Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
-
Clinical Trial Observational Study
Pilot study of amitriptyline in the prophylactic treatment of medication-overuse headache: a 1-year follow-up.
This study aims to evaluate the long-term efficacy of low-dose amitriptyline combined with abrupt withdrawal in outpatients of medication-overuse headache (MOH) in an open-label design. ⋯ Given these results, early introduction of low-dose amitriptyline combined with abrupt withdrawal could be considered as a choice for patients with MOH.
-
This study was conducted to translate the Pain Catastrophizing Scale into and adapt it to the Sinhala language and to examine its psychometric properties and factor structure in pain patients and healthy adults in Sri Lanka. ⋯ The results suggest that the Sinhala version of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale retains the original three-factor structure. It is a stable, valid and sufficiently reliable tool to assess pain catastrophizing in Sinhala-speaking individuals in Sri Lanka.
-
Observational Study
The effectiveness of repeat lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections.
The aim of this study was to determine 1) if repeat lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections (TFESIs) resulted in recovery of pain relief, which has waned since an index injection, and 2) if cumulative benefit could be achieved by repeat injections within 3 months of the index injection. ⋯ Repeat TFESI may be performed for recurrence of radicular pain with the expectation of recovery of most or all previously achieved benefit; acute pain patients will likely recover all prior benefit. Repeat TFESIs within 3 months of the index injection can provide cumulative benefit.
-
A growing number of studies have shown that opioid craving (i.e., the perceived need or desire to consume opioids) is one of the strongest determinants of prescription opioid misuse in patients with chronic pain prescribed opioid therapy. To date, however, the factors that are associated with craving in patients with pain remain largely unexplored. Based on previous research, there is reason to believe that catastrophizing might be associated with heightened opioid craving. ⋯ Our preliminary findings provide valuable new insights into the determinants of craving in patients with pain. The finding that catastrophizing was associated with craving even after controlling for a host of demographic, psychological, medical, and medication regimen variables is particularly striking, and raises questions concerning the factors that underlie the association between catastrophizing and craving in patients prescribed opioid therapy.