Journal of pain research
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2019
Preoperative ultrasound-guided multilevel paravertebral blocks reduce the incidence of postmastectomy chronic pain: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial.
Chronic postsurgical pain is a challenging problem after breast cancer surgery. This prospective, randomized, double-blinded, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the influence of preoperative ultrasound-guided multilevel paravertebral blocks (PVBs) on chronic pain following mastectomy. ⋯ This study indicated that perioperative ultrasound-guided multilevel PVBs with ropivacaine improved acute postoperative pain and decreased postmastectomy chronic pain at 3 and 6 months postoperatively.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2019
ReviewTapentadol in the management of cancer pain: current evidence and future perspectives.
Thanks to the progress in early diagnosis and treatment of cancer, the life expectancy of cancer patients has now increased. Patients are, therefore, more likely to experience their individual cancer pain as a chronic pain. As a consequence, long-term treatment of cancer-related pain and oncological therapy-related pain are a major need for all patients and a challenge to all healthcare professionals. ⋯ In randomized, double-blind and active-controlled trials it proved non-inferior to standard opioids like morphine or oxycodone in the management of moderate-to-severe cancer pain, both in opioid-naive and in opioid-pretreated patients. The good analgesic efficacy may be partly due to the action of tapentadol on neuropathic pain components. Together with the low rate of gastrointestinal adverse effects and the overall favorable safety profile, tapentadol can be considered a good option in cancer pain patients, who can suffer frequently from nausea, vomiting, constipation or other events that further reduce their quality of life.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2019
Hyperbaric oxygen relieves neuropathic pain through AKT/TSC2/mTOR pathway activity to induce autophagy.
Our previous study suggested that HBO treatment attenuated neuropathic pain by inhibiting mTOR to induce autophagy in SNL neuropathic pain model. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of AKT/TSC2/mTOR pathway in SNL and autophagy and determine whether HBO treatment could relieve neuropathic pain via modulating AKT/TSC2/mTOR pathway. ⋯ Taken together, our findings demonstrated AKT/TSC2/mTOR pathway was activated in SNL-induced neuropathic pain, and HBO treatment attenuated neuropathic pain via neutralizing AKT/TSC2/mTOR pathway activation.
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Journal of pain research · Jan 2019
Serratus anterior plane block or thoracic paravertebral block for postoperative pain treatment after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a retrospective propensity-matched study.
Reports of postoperative pain treatment after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery are limited. Thoracic paravertebral block and serratus anterior plane block have been described recently in pain management after thoracic surgery. A comparison between these two blocks for postoperative analgesia after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery has not been previously reported. The aim of this study was to compare the analgesic benefits of serratus plane block and thoracic paravertebral block after uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and examined the two block types for noninferiority. ⋯ The addition of single-injection serratus plane or thoracic paravertebral block is associated with early analgesic benefits in patients undergoing uniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, including a reduction in the postoperative opioid consumption and pain scores. Serratus plane block is as effective as thoracic paravertebral block for reducing postoperative pain.
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Long-term opioid therapy may be associated with analgesic efficacy and also predictable adverse events, including cardiovascular and pulmonary events, gastrointestinal disorders, endocrinological harms, psychological problems, impairment of driving ability, and risk of abuse. These effects of opioids are mostly due to the wide expression of the mu receptor. ⋯ Noteworthy, MOR activation with tapentadol is markedly lower compared with that exerted by classical opioids, thus likely resulting in fewer opioid-related adverse effects. In this review, we discuss current safety data on tapentadol, with a focus on some specific events, risk of abuse, and driving ability, a well-accepted proxy of the ability of taking critical decisions.