European journal of pain : EJP
-
Previous quantitative research has shown that parents of adolescents with chronic pain report elevated levels of emotional distress in addition to limitations in social and family functioning. ⋯ Parents who are unable to achieve the relief of their adolescent's chronic pain and suffering report significant personal distress that is exemplified by the repetitive search for legitimacy of their child's pain in 'diagnosis'. In the absence of diagnosis parents reported an unwelcome suspension in an unusual pattern of parenting, resembling the infant phase of parenting.
-
Chronic use of opioid is associated with pro-nociceptive phenomena such as hyperalgesia or tolerance. The interaction between opioid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) with respect to opioid-associated hyperalgesia and tolerance remains largely unknown. This study examines the effect of subcutaneous or intrathecal administration of ketorolac, an NSAID, on recurrent withdrawal induced hyperalgesia and tolerance to spinal morphine in rats. ⋯ Compared to controls, all morphine infused animals showed similar changes in their dose responses to spinal morphine, effective dose 50 values and tolerance ratios; and these changes were not affected by the ketorolac given subcutaneously. The effect of ketorolac on tolerance was further examined by directly delivering ketorolac to the spinal cord, and again we observed similar changes in the daily latency, percentage of area under the curve and percentage of maximal possible effects among groups infused with morphine, regardless of intrathecal ketorolac treatment. Together, our results demonstrate that recurrent withdrawal is associated with hyperalgesia but this has no effect on the tolerance development; ketorolac protects against recurrent withdrawal induced hyperalgesia without significantly altering spinal morphine tolerance.
-
Persistent non-cancer pain is a common reason for consultation in primary care but treatment options, including non-opioid analgesics, are limited, and neither strong evidence nor established guidelines address when and how primary care doctors should prescribe opioid analgesics for persistent non-cancer pain. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between doctors' prescribing patterns for persistent non-cancer pain in primary care and their personal and practice characteristics and beliefs about appropriateness and risks of opioids. A pilot survey sampled beliefs concerning the need for and risks of opioid prescribing for persistent non-cancer pain among volunteers from primary care practices and postgraduate educational events, using a self-report questionnaire, and related these beliefs to their reported opioid prescribing. ⋯ Both prescribers and non-prescribers expressed concern about the risks of opioids. In addition, most primary care doctors were dissatisfied with their training on pain; few had prescribing guidelines; and neither training nor guidelines influenced prescribing. In conclusion, whether or not GPs prescribe opioids for persistent non-cancer pain is mainly determined by their personal beliefs about appropriateness of opioids for this problem.
-
Measurement and conceptual issues of pain catastrophizing have been raised in the literature. The issues of construct redundancy and measurement overlap have received particular attention, with suggestions that measures of pain catastrophizing are confounded with measures of negative mood, namely depression. The current study sought to investigate these issues in the coping strategies questionnaire-catastrophizing subscale (CSQ-CAT), a widely used measure of pain catastrophizing. ⋯ This study suggests that the CSQ-CAT is highly related to measures of negative mood and raises doubts about its measurement of the construct of pain catastrophizing. Results also provide support for theoretical accounts of the relationships between pain catastrophizing, negative mood, and pain. Clinical implications, future research directions, and alternative measures of pain catastrophizing are discussed.
-
Using immunohistochemical methods we determined the presence of SP- and CGRP-immunopositive nerve fibers in the hip joint of patients with femoral neck fracture (controls, group 1), painful osteoarthritis (group 2), and painless failed total hip arthroplasties (group 3). Immunoreactive nerve fibers were found in the soft tissue of the fossa acetabuli as well as in the subintimal part of the synovial layer in the hip joint capsule of groups 1 and 2. In the capsule of controls the innervation density had a median of 5.7fibers/cm(2) for CGRP-ir and 3.2fibers/cm(2) for SP-ir afferents. ⋯ This is supported by the fact, that patients with loosened total hip arthroplasties, where we failed to detect SP- and CGRP-immunoreactive fibers, did not feel pain. The upregulation of SP- and CGRP-positive neurons in response to arthritic stages suggests a mechanism involving neuropeptides in the maintenance of a painful degenerative joint disease and in mediating noxious stimuli from the periphery. Furthermore, these findings help to explain clinical observations, such as effectiveness of local therapy to control hip pain with intraarticular injection, synovectomy and denervation procedures.