Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Recurrent vaso-occlusive pain episodes, the most common complication of sickle cell disease (SCD), cause frequent health care utilization. Studies exploring associations between patient activation and acute health care utilization for pain are lacking. We tested the hypothesis that increased activation and self-efficacy are associated with decreased health care utilization for pain in SCD. ⋯ Many individuals with SCD have suboptimal activation and reduced self-efficacy. Higher activation and self-efficacy were associated with lower health care utilization for pain. Additional studies are needed to evaluate interventions to improve activation and self-efficacy and reduce acute health care utilization for pain.
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Functional abdominal pain (AP) is a prevalent issue in childhood and adolescence. The contribution of psychosocial factors in the development and maintenance of this health problem is rather unclear, and experimental studies about underlying mechanisms are lacking. This study investigates whether experimentally induced social exclusion decreases sensory and pain thresholds in children suffering from AP. ⋯ This is the first study to investigate changes in sensory and pain thresholds following painful social interactions in a sample of children/adolescents with a chronic pain condition. Results suggest that AP and control children differ in their reaction of sensory thresholds, which might indicate an altered processing of social exclusion. Replication and further methodological improvements are needed.
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Patients with trigeminal neuralgia who are refractory to medical therapy may choose to undergo Gasserian ganglion percutaneous radiofrequency thermocoagulation. However, in cases where the foramen ovale is difficult to access due to various anatomical anomalies, the typical estimation of the facial entry point is suboptimal. ⋯ The expectation for clinicians approaching trigeminal nerve block using a peri-oral approach should be to expect a great degree of potential variability in terms of both distances from the corner of the mouth and needle angle taken to successfully navigate the anatomy and access the foramen ovale.
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Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a minimally invasive treatment option to reduce pain and promote tissue healing. At the time this study was performed, there was limited published literature analyzing outcomes for patients treated with PRP for hip osteoarthritis. ⋯ In patients with mild/moderate hip osteoarthritis, PRP may provide pain relief and functional improvement for up to six months.
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First, to determine the number of accident-related complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) cases from 2008 to 2015 and to identify factors associated with an increased risk for developing CRPS. Second, to analyze the duration of work incapacity and direct health care costs over follow-up periods of two and five years, respectively. ⋯ CRPS is a relatively rare condition but is associated with high direct health care costs and work incapacity.