Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Observational Study
Thermal QST Phenotypes Associated with Response to Lumbar Epidural Steroid Injections: A Pilot Study.
Response to lumbar epidural steroid injection in lumbar radicular pain varies. The purpose of this study is to characterize the changes in quantitative sensory testing (QST) phenotypes of subjects and compare the QST characteristics in patients who do respond to treatment of radicular pain with a lumbar epidural steroid injection (ESI). ⋯ The results show that the nonresponders to ESIs have increased detection threshold to heat pain and warm sensation, suggesting that a preexisting dysfunction in the C fibers in this group of subjects who can be detected by QST. Such altered QST characteristics may prognosticate the response to ESIs.
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This study set out to identify the neuropathic component of pain experienced by burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients evaluated using painDETECT, a diagnostic tool that could easily be introduced into clinical practice. ⋯ The present study suggests that almost a third of BMS patients present neuropathic pain, which is strongly associated with the intensity of pain measured using VAS. These data could provide the basis for further research.
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There is a need to monitor patients receiving prescription opioids to detect possible signs of abuse. To address this need, we developed and calibrated an item bank for severity of abuse of prescription pain medication as part of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS ® ). ⋯ The initial psychometric characteristics of the item bank support its use as a computerized adaptive test or short form, with either version providing a brief, precise, and efficient measure relevant to both clinical and community samples.