Revue médicale suisse
-
Revue médicale suisse · Jun 2014
Review Historical Article[Medicine and pain: history of a relationship].
The vagueness surrounding the terms "suffering" and "pain" invites us to reflect upon the relationships between a physiological fact and a constitutive dimension of the human experience. History shows a constant medical preoccupation facing pain as a clinical symptom, endowed with a rich terminology, many ways of relieving pain and speculations on its diagnostic value. ⋯ This development accompanies an evolution of medical practices on pain that, far from representing continuous progress, adopts rather uneven and sometimes surprising outlines. As a whole, medicine is characterised by an important ambivalence when confronting pain, valuating it as an useful auxiliary or on the contrary denying the painful experience.
-
Revue médicale suisse · Jun 2014
Review Historical Article[Childrens' pain, a complex entity to be explored].
From unrecognized babies' pain, to new discoveries made on early emotional memory and sensory capacities, chronic pain in childhood remains a complex field still to be explored. Besides, the discovery of early fetal sensorial receptions is an opening to new understanding of the origin of psychological chronic pain from early childhood to adolescence. From the silent babies suffering of emotional regulation disorder to adolescents' chronic recurrent pains, a common point is the expression of a psychic disease through the body. Different therapeutic actions are described, because without treatment chronic or recurrent pains may lead to a real risk of intellectual, affective and drive impoverishment for the suffering child.
-
Revue médicale suisse · Jun 2014
[Acute analgesia: implementation of a dedicated protocol in an emergency department].
Acute pain relief is an ongoing challenge for both nurses and emergency physicians. Its management remains suboptimal or delayed, despite the existence of valid recommendations. The complexity of the emergency department and the diversity of encountered situations justify a tailored approach, taking into account the patient's clinical characteristics and needs. ⋯ The benefits of an optimal analgesia are numerous. They include a greater patient satisfaction, a reduced length of stay, and a rapid return to mobility. This article highlights the key elements of acute pain management in the emergency department of the Geneva University Hospitals.
-
Chronic pain is often associated with several symptoms in various areas such as depression, irritability, attentional difficulties, or interpersonal distress. Evidence suggests that these comorbidities may be explained by a limited capacity of individuals to exert cognitive control on thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. A decrease of this capacity of control could contribute to the development and maintenance of chronic pain and its associated symptoms. Benefits of the cognitive-behavioral therapy in the treatment of chronic pain may be explained by learning efficient and less costly pain coping strategies in terms of cognitive control capacity.