European journal of pain : EJP
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Facial activity during pain is composed of varying combinations of a few elementary facial responses (so-called Action Units). A previous study of experimental pain showed that these varying combinations can be clustered into distinct facial activity patterns of pain. In the present study, we examined whether comparable facial activity patterns can also be identified among people suffering from clinical pain; namely, shoulder pain. ⋯ Similar to experimental pain, facial activity during evoked pain episodes in shoulder pain patients could be clustered into distinct faces of pain. Each cluster was composed of different combinations of single facial responses, namely: narrowed eyes, which is displayed either alone or in combination with opened mouth or wrinkled nose, or furrowed brows and closed eyes. These distinct faces of pain may inform the training of professionals and computers how to best recognize pain based on facial expressions.
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Observational Study
Sensory and pain modulation profiles of ongoing central neuropathic extremity pain in multiple sclerosis.
Central neuropathic extremity pain (CNEP) is the most frequent type of pain in multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of the present study was to evaluate sensory and pain modulation profiles in MS patients with CNEP. ⋯ This article presents higher prevalence of the 'sensory loss' prototypic sensory phenotype in multiple sclerosis patients with central extremity neuropathic pain compared to pain-free patients. Higher degree of disability underlines the possible role of higher lesion load in the somatosensory pathways in this particular 'deafferentation' type of central neuropathic pain.
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Increased acute postoperative pain intensity has been associated with the development of persistent postsurgical pain (PPP) in mechanistic and clinical investigations, but it remains unclear which aspects of acute pain explain this linkage. ⋯ Symbolic aggregate approximations of clinically obtained, acute postoperative pain intraday time series identify different motifs in patients suffering moderate to severe pain 6 months after surgery.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Analgesic effect of music during wound care among patients with diaphyseal tibial fractures: Randomized controlled trial.
Evidence is scarce regarding the analgesic effect of music for the relief of acute pain during the care of surgical tibial fracture wounds. ⋯ Patients with diaphyseal tibial fractures that listened to music before and during the wound dressing change showed less pain when compared to those who received the standardized pharmacologic analgesia alone.
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One in five patients experience chronic pain 12 months following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This longitudinal study used a person-centred approach to identify subgroups of patients with distinct chronic pain profiles following TKA and identified preoperative characteristics associated with these profiles. ⋯ The present study provides a novel and original analysis of pain profiles following total knee arthroplasty that may contribute to our understanding of the transition from acute to chronic pain. Our results may be used to identify patients at higher risk for poorer outcomes based on preoperative risk factors.