Journal of pain research
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Grading the intensity of nondental orofacial pain: identification of cutoff points for mild, moderate, and severe pain.
When assessing pain in clinical practice, clinicians often label pain as mild, moderate, and severe. However, these categories are not distinctly defined, and are often used arbitrarily. Instruments for pain assessment use more sophisticated scales, such as a 0-10 numerical rating scale, and apart from pain intensity assess pain-related interference and disability. The aim of the study was to identify cutoff points for mild, moderate, and severe nondental orofacial pain using a numerical rating scale, a pain-related interference scale, and a disability measurement. ⋯ The cutoff points established in this study can discriminate in pain intensity categories reasonably well, and showed a significant difference in most of the outcome measures used.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Efficacy and tolerability of a hydrocodone extended-release tablet formulated with abuse-deterrence technology for the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic pain in patients with osteoarthritis or low back pain.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated the efficacy and safety of hydrocodone extended release (ER) developed with abuse-deterrence technology to provide sustained pain relief and limit effects of alcohol and tablet manipulation on drug release. Eligible patients with chronic moderate-to-severe low back or osteoarthritis pain were titrated to an analgesic dose of hydrocodone ER (15-90 mg) and randomized to placebo or hydrocodone ER every 12 hours. The primary efficacy measure was change from baseline to week 12 in weekly average pain intensity (API; 0=no pain, 10=worst pain imaginable). ⋯ Incidence of aberrant drug-use behaviors was low, and adverse events were similar between groups. This study did not meet the primary endpoint, although results support the effectiveness of this hydrocodone ER formulation in managing chronic low back or osteoarthritis pain. Use of the hydrocodone ER 15-mg dose, a robust placebo response, and use of supplemental analgesics, particularly in the placebo group, may have limited detection of a statistically significant treatment effect, and additional research is needed to clarify these findings.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics of biphasic immediate-release/extended-release hydrocodone bitartrate/acetaminophen (MNK-155) compared with immediate-release hydrocodone bitartrate/ibuprofen and immediate-release tramadol HCl/acetaminophen.
To characterize the single-dose and steady-state pharmacokinetics (PK) of biphasic immediate-release/extended-release hydrocodone bitartrate/acetaminophen (IR/ER HB/APAP), IR HB/ibuprofen, and IR tramadol HCl/APAP. ⋯ With dosing q12h, IR/ER HB/APAP provided similar peak and total steady-state hydrocodone and APAP exposure vs IR comparators.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Relationships between craniocervical posture and pain-related disability in patients with cervico-craniofacial pain.
This cross-sectional correlation study explored the relationships between craniocervical posture and pain-related disability in patients with chronic cervico-craniofacial pain (CCFP). Moreover, we investigated the test-retest intrarater reliability of two craniocervical posture measurements: head posture (HP) and the sternomental distance (SMD). ⋯ The results showed no statistically significant correlations between craniocervical posture and variables of pain-related disability, but a strong correlation between the two variables of disability was found. Our findings suggest that small differences between CCFP patients and asymptomatic subjects exist with respect to the two measurements used to assess craniocervical posture (HP and SMD), and these measures demonstrated high test-retest intrarater reliability for both CCFP patients and asymptomatic subjects.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2015
Assessment of rescue opioid use in patients with post-bunionectomy pain treated with diclofenac potassium liquid-filled capsules.
When used in multimodal analgesia for acute pain, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may reduce the requirement for opioids during the perioperative period. To provide more insight into pain treatment during the outpatient period, we examined the use of opioid rescue medication (RM) and described the relationship between pain intensity and RM use in patients with acute pain after bunionectomy. Patients received placebo or 25 mg of a liquid-filled capsule version of the NSAID diclofenac potassium (DPLFC; n=188 patients/group) every 6 hours during the 48-hour inpatient period through the end of outpatient dosing on day 4. ⋯ In summary, this study shows that DPLFC lowers the requirement for opioids, which is associated with a reduction in the occurrence of treatment side effects, while maintaining adequate analgesia for patients with moderate acute pain in both the outpatient and outpatient periods. Patients with more severe pain are more likely to use RM, but they still use fewer opioids when treated with DPLFC. This suggests that multimodal treatment using DPLFC and an opioid may offer an important clinical benefit in the treatment of acute pain, including in the home environment.