Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Comparative Study
N-of-1 randomized trials to assess the efficacy of gabapentin for chronic neuropathic pain.
The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of gabapentin with placebo for neuropathic pain at the individual and population levels. ⋯ The response rate and mean reduction in symptoms with gabapentin were small. Gabapentin prescribing posttrial was significantly influenced by the trial results.
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The primary objective of this pilot study is to understand the relationship between physicians' characteristics and physicians' management decisions about pain. The secondary aim is to understand how patient characteristics, including race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) may affect these treatment decisions in chronic low back pain. ⋯ Our study is the first randomized controlled study assessing patient and treatment variables in the management of chronic pain. It suggests that physicians' demographic variables and perhaps patient demographic variables influence pain management decisions.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Brain functional changes and duloxetine treatment response in fibromyalgia: a pilot study.
Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressant medications may have efficacy in relieving pain associated with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), even in the absence of major depressive disorder (MDD). Current practice is to use a trial-and-error treatment strategy, often requiring 8-12 weeks to determine the effectiveness of a given pharmacological intervention. The ability to predict response to antidepressant medications would facilitate clinical management of FMS. Prior work in MDD has shown that the quantitative electroencephalographic (QEEG) cordance biomarker of brain functional changes early in the course of antidepressant treatment is related to later clinical response. We hypothesized that cordance might also predict response to antidepressant medications for symptoms of FMS. ⋯ This pilot study suggests that QEEG biomarkers may prove useful for predicting improvement in painful symptoms during SNRI treatment in FMS. Larger studies are needed to confirm this finding.
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To examine the role of abuse-related injury and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity in mediating the effects of assaultive intimate partner violence (IPV) severity, psychological IPV severity, and child abuse severity on chronic pain severity in women survivors of IPV. ⋯ Management of chronic pain in IPV survivors requires attention to symptoms of PTSD, abuse-related injury, and lifetime experiences of violence. Ensuring that acute pain from injury is adequately treated and followed over time may reduce the extent of chronic pain in abused women. The results also support the importance of routine assessment for IPV and child abuse.
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Case Reports
Opioid-free balanced anesthesia for cervical ganglionectomy subsequent to recent ultra rapid opioid detoxification.
To perform an opioid-free, balanced anesthetic for an Active Duty soldier undergoing cervical ganglionectomy for intractable occipital neuralgia 7 days after ultra rapid opioid detoxification (UROD) under general anesthesia. ⋯ This patient successfully completed a perioperative and postoperative course using ketamine and dexmedetomidine infusions, in addition to other non-opioid adjuncts. The patient returned to her Active Duty station, with increased functional capacity and remains opioid-free.