Pain and therapy
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Chronic and persistent pain is a prevalent and debilitating secondary condition in patients with a neurological injury such as spinal cord injury (SCI). Patients with SCI have an increased risk of developing other co-morbid conditions such as elevated negative mood states. Arguably, the presence of chronic pain would act to intensify the chances of developing negative mood states as opposed to resilient mental states. The objective of this research was to investigate the association between pain intensity and levels of negative mood states in adult patients with SCI. ⋯ These results provide further evidence that patients with SCI experience clinically elevated negative mood states if they have intense levels of pain over extended periods of time. In contrast, patients without intense pain have mood states similar to those in the able-bodied community. Implications for the treatment of SCI are discussed.
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Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) represents a large heterogeneous group of antibody-deficiency syndromes associated with a wide range of clinical features and a lack of defined causes in the realm of primary immunodeficiencies. Here, we present a case of CVID in a 62-year-old white male patient with a history of longstanding complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). ⋯ Therefore, immunoglobulin therapy appears to have been beneficial in the treatment of the patient's symptoms of CRPS, including pain. Additional studies investigating the mechanism by which immunoglobulin therapy may reduce the inflammation and pain of CRPS are needed.
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Breakthrough pain is common among patients with cancer and presents challenges to effective pain management. Breakthrough pain is characterized by rapid onset, severe intensity, and duration typically lasting <1 h. Thus, optimal relief from breakthrough pain is best attained by administering analgesics with dissolution times and bioavailabilities that closely match the onset and duration of breakthrough pain. The objective of this study was to assess complete disintegration time of three different doses of sublingual fentanyl tablets in opioid-tolerant patients. ⋯ Sublingual fentanyl tablets dissolved rapidly (average time <2 min) in all patients, with the higher doses taking slightly more time to dissolve.