Journal of pain research
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2018
ReviewThe impact of prophylactic dexamethasone on postoperative sore throat: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.
An updated systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to assess the effect of prophylactic dexamethasone for tracheal intubation of general anesthesia on postoperative sore throat (POST). ⋯ Intravenous dexamethasone ≥0.2 mg/kg within 30 minutes before or after induction of general anesthesia should be recommended as grade 1A evidence with safety and efficacy in reducing the incidence of POST, hoarseness, and PONV in patients without pregnancy, diabetes mellitus, or contraindications for corticosteroids.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2018
ReviewPain measurement techniques: spotlight on mechanically ventilated patients.
Procedural pain is a frequent problem in intensive care units (ICUs). For that, pain assessment has been increasingly introduced to the ICU professional's routine, and studies have been developed to show the relevance of measuring pain in critically ill patients. ⋯ This review showed that objective measures, as behavioral scales, are the gold standard tools to measure pain intensity in noncommunicative subjects. These data contribute to professionals' knowledge about ICU pain measurement and emphasize its importance and consequences for adequate pain management.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2018
Comparison of percutaneous intradiscal ozone injection with laser disc decompression in discogenic low back pain.
Intervertebral disc herniation with the pressure on the surrounding neural structures is one of the most important causes of chronic low back pain, which sometimes leads to open surgery. Reducing the pressure inside the disc with intradiscal intervention such as laser irradiation or ozone injection is a minimally invasive method and an alternative to surgery with satisfactory results. These two methods were compared with each other in this research. ⋯ Intradiscal ozone injection could be an effective and cost-effective method for treatment of patients with discogenic back pain.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2018
Characterizing classes of fibromyalgia within the continuum of central sensitization syndrome.
While fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by chronic widespread pain and tenderness, its presentation among patients as a continuum of diseases rather than a single disease contributes to the challenges of diagnosis and treatment. The purpose of this analysis was to distinguish and characterize classes of FM within the continuum using data from chronic pain patients. ⋯ FM is a disease continuum characterized by progressive and identifiable classifications. Four classes of FM can be differentiated by pain and symptom severity, specific comorbidities, and use of clinical procedures.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2018
ReviewSpotlight on cervical vagus nerve stimulation for the treatment of primary headache disorders: a review.
Cervical noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) emerged as an adjunctive neuromodulation approach for primary headache disorders with limited responsiveness to pharmacologic and behavioral treatment. This narrative review evaluates the safety and efficacy of invasive and noninvasive peripheral nerve stimulation of the cervical branch of the vagal nerve (afferent properties) for primary headache disorders (episodic/chronic migraine [EM/CM] and cluster headache [ECH/CCH]) and provides a brief summary of the preclinical data on the possible mechanism of action of cervical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and trigemino-nociceptive head pain transmission. ⋯ Cervical nVNS represents a novel, safe and efficient adjunctive treatment option for primary headache disorders. In particular, preliminary observations suggest enhanced nVNS responsiveness in favor of episodic subtypes (EM and ECH). However, preclinical studies are urgently warranted to dissect the mechanism of action.