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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Numerous investigations report that depressive symptoms frequently coexist with persistent pain. However, evidence suggests that symptoms of depression are not an inevitable consequence of pain. Diathesis-stress formulations suggest that psychological factors interact with the stress of pain to heighten the risk of depressive symptoms. Perceptions of injustice have recently emerged as a factor that may interact with the stress of pain to increase depressive symptoms. ⋯ The results suggest that perceived injustice augments the relationship between pain severity and depressive symptoms. The inclusion of techniques specifically targeting perceptions of injustice may enhance the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing symptoms of depression for individuals presenting with strong perceptions of injustice.
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An audit of pain management following pediatric day surgery at British Columbia Children's Hospital.
A prospective audit of 225 children was conducted to evaluate current pain management strategies both in-hospital and at home following day surgery at British Columbia Children's Hospital (Vancouver, British Columbia). Anesthetic, postanesthetic care unit and surgical day care unit records were collected to generate in-hospital data. ⋯ Children undergoing certain procedures were more likely to experience significant pain. Although good pain control was commonly achieved after surgery, improvements may be possible by increasing the use of multimodal analgesia, providing standardized written discharge instructions and using surgery-specific pediatric analgesia guidelines.
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The prevalence of chronic pain ranges from 40% to 80% in long-term care facilities (LTCF), with the highest proportion being found among older adults and residents with dementia. Unfortunately, pain in older adults is underdiagnosed, undertreated, inadequately treated or not treated at all. A solution to this problem would be to provide effective and innovative interdisciplinary continuing education to health care providers (HCPs). ⋯ The present study showed that despite an average of more than 10 years of work experience in LTCF, HCPs have significant educational needs in pain management, especially pain assessment. These results will help in the development of a comprehensive pain management educational program for HCPs in LTCF.