Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Pain catastrophizing predicts poor response to topical analgesics in patients with neuropathic pain.
Previous research suggests that high levels of pain catastrophizing might predict poorer response to pharmacological interventions for neuropathic pain. ⋯ The results of the present study suggest that the development of brief interventions specifically targeting catastrophic thinking might be useful for enhancing the effects of pharmacological interventions for neuropathic pain. Furthermore, failure to account for the level of catastrophizing might contribute to null findings in clinical trials of analgesic medication.
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Acute orthopedic trauma contributes substantially to the global burden of disease. ⋯ Many individuals experience persistent pain following acute trauma. Due to the lack of studies, the use of different constructs to measure the same factor and the methodological limitations associated with many of the studies, the present review was only able to reliably identify a limited set of factors that predicted persistent pain. Recommendations for the conduct of future methodologically rigorous studies of persistent pain are provided.
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Pelvic cancers such as cancer of the cervix can spread locally to involve adjacent structures such as the lumbosacral plexus and the sympathetic chain. When this happens the prognosis is usually poor. An early suspicion of recurrence may result in investigation leading to earlier and better treatment. A physical sign that may be an early and only sign of recurrence is described. ⋯ Evans' sign is important because it may be an early and solitary sign of retroperitoneal recurrence of pelvic (cervix, rectum, bladder, ovary and prostate) cancers. Recognition of this finding when intractable pain in the back and leg occurs with a history of this type of cancer could lead to earlier and more successful treatment.
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Quality assurance is increasingly important in the current health care climate. An electronic database can be used for tracking patient information and as a research tool to provide quality assurance for patient care. ⋯ The electronic database was found to be relevant and functional for the identified goals of data storage and research.