Pain research and treatment
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Chronic non-cancer pain is a debilitating condition associated with high individual and societal costs. While opioid treatment for pain has been available for centuries, it is associated with high variability in outcome, and a considerable proportion of patients is unable to attain relief from symptoms while suffering adverse events and developing medication dependence. We performed a review of the efficacy of pharmacogenomic markers and their abilities to predict adverse events, dependence, and associated economic costs, focusing on two genes: OPRM1 and CYP2D6. ⋯ Of these, 17 were relevant to biological actions of pharmacogenomic markers and their effect on therapeutic efficacy, 16 to adverse events, 15 to opioid dependence, and eight to economic costs. In conclusion, increasing costs of opioid therapy have made the advances in pharmacogenomics an attractive solution to personalize care with unclear repercussions related to the impact on costs, morbidity, and outcomes. This intersection of pharmacoeconomics and pharmacogenomics presents a unique platform to further examine current advances in clinical medicine and their utility in cost-effective treatment of chronic pain.
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Postoperative pain management is one of the most challenging jobs in orthopedic surgical population as it comprises of patients from extremes of ages and with multiple comorbidities. Though effective, opioids may contribute to serious adverse effects particularly in old age patients. Intravenous paracetamol is widely used in the postoperative period with the hope that it may reduce opioid consumption and produce better pain relief. ⋯ However, one study did not find any reduction of opioid requirement after spinal surgery in children and adolescent. Four clinical trials reported better pain scores when paracetamol has been used, but other three trials denied. We conclude that postoperative intravenous paracetamol is a safe and effective adjunct to opioid after orthopedic surgery, but at present there is no data to decide whether paracetamol reduces opioid related adverse effects or not.
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Background. The mechanism for pain associated with intravenous administration of propofol is believed to be related to the release of nitric oxide. We hypothesized that pain following propofol injection would be reduced by pretreatment with dexamethasone. ⋯ Low dose dexamethasone is commonly used as an antiemetic, and, in larger doses, it has been demonstrated to provide prolonged postoperative analgesia. At higher analgesic doses, dexamethasone may also reduce pain associated with the injection of propofol. This effect is probably related to the effect of the steroid on nitric oxide production associated with intravenous propofol injection.
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Objectives. To investigate associations between muscle strength and pain sensitivity among healthy volunteers and associations between different pain sensitivity measures. Methods. ⋯ Different pain sensitivity assessment methods are generally correlated. The cuff PPT and evoked infrapatellar pain seem to reflect the general pain sensitivity. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01351558.
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Aim. Regional analgesia has been introduced as better analgesic technique compared to using systemic analgesic agents, and it may decrease the adverse effects of them and increase the degree of satisfaction. Several additives have been suggested to enhance analgesic effect of local anesthetic agents such as opioids and steroids. ⋯ Conclusion. Addition of dexamethasone to lidocaine significantly prolonged the duration of analgesia compared with fentanyl/lidocaine mixture or lidocaine alone using axillary block in patients undergoing forearm fracture surgery. This trial is registered with IRCT2012120711687N1.