Der Schmerz
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Review
[Pain management during pregnancy : An expert-based interdisciplinary consensus recommendation].
Pregnancy and pain of different origins is an unfavorable combination that presents all practitioners with special challenges. Pain negatively affects the homeostasis of humans. Patient compliance and in-depth knowledge of the fetotoxicity and teratogenicity of the substances are necessary to maintain a balance between therapy for the mother and safety of the unborn child. ⋯ A deliberated concept for pain therapy during pregnancy should be initiated with a non-pharmacological intervention and, if necessary, supplemented with pharmacological agents.
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Entrapment neuropathies such as carpal tunnel syndrome, radiculopathies, or radicular pain are the most common peripheral neuropathies and also the most common cause for neuropathic pain. Despite their high prevalence, they often remain challenging to diagnose and manage in a clinical setting. ⋯ The contemporary assessment is discussed and diagnostic pitfalls highlighted. The evidence for the noninvasive and surgical management of common entrapment neuropathies is summarised and future areas of research are identified.
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Experiential avoidance is a core process variable in the concept of Acceptance and Commitment Theory (ACT) and has been connected to various disorders. A widely used instrument for the measurement of experiential avoidance is the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire II (AAQ-II). Recently, a pain-specific version for chronic pain patients was introduced in the Netherlands (AAQ-II‑P). High scores indicate strong pain-related experiential avoidance. The aim of the current study was to measure pain-related experiential avoidance in a sample of chronic pain patients using the German translation of the AAQ-II‑P and to analyze its psychometric qualities. ⋯ The German AAQ-II‑P has good reliability. Regarding factorial structure and construct validity, it is highly comparable to the original version. Direction and magnitude of the relationship to adjacent constructs mostly measure up to our expectations. Chronic pain patients inclined to pain-related experiential avoidance tend to indicate more pain catastrophizing and show restricted quality of life regarding psychological variables. Apparently, pain-related experiential avoidance can be relevant for popular target variables in psychotherapy.
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Deficits in the quality of pain management in hospitals have been described for years. The aim of this study was to assess structures and processes of pain management in departments for internal medicine in German hospitals. ⋯ The described implementation of pain management was satisfying in the participating departments. However, in consideration of the low participation and high rejection of participation due to explicit disinterest in the topic, the results should be critically assessed and presumably characterized by a significant positive bias.