Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
-
To investigate the patient satisfaction with medications commonly used for migraine therapy in patients seen in headache clinic in China with emphasis on the evaluation of Chinese patent medicine (CPM) in relieving acute migraine attack. ⋯ Fifty-eight percent of the eligible respondents in Guangdong and Guangxi Province had used CPM at the acute attack of migraine, but based on our data, the effect of CPM on treating migraine attack was poor with low satisfaction compared with WMs. However, many factors may bias or explain our findings. This suggests the need for accelerated research in understanding patient choice, treatment availability, and use of medications.
-
Many patients with advanced cancer frequently use analgesic medications for their pain. Systematically assessing and quantifying changes in analgesic use remains challenging in the clinical trials setting. Currently, there is no sensitive scale for categorizing the intensity of analgesic medications to understand the reasons for changes in patient-reported pain. We assessed whether the Analgesic Quantification Algorithm (AQA) is more sensitive than the World Health Organization Analgesic Treatment Ladder (WHO-AL) for quantifying analgesic medication use among patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ The AQA represents a more sensitive measure of analgesic use than the WHO-AL, and may better determine whether changes in pain assessments in clinical trials are due to the intervention or changes in analgesic use.
-
The goal of this project was to explore the association between post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) pain scores recorded within the first and second hour of the end of surgery with maximum and median pain scores recorded on postoperative days (PODs) 1 through 5. ⋯ Maximum scores measured within the PACU likely reflect a set of circumstances distinct from those experienced on PODs 1 through 5.
-
No standard definition exists for the concept "persistent pain self-management" or how it should be defined in relation to older adults. Poorly defined concepts can result in misunderstandings in the clinical setting and can hinder research through difficulties identifying or measuring the concept. ⋯ Our findings have clarified existing use and understanding regarding the concept of older adults' persistent pain self-management. We have identified three areas for future development: refinement of the attributes of this concept within the context of older adults, an exploration of how providers can overcome difficulties supporting older adults' persistent pain self-management, and a clarification of the overall theoretical framework of older adults' persistent pain self-management.
-
Case Reports
An unusual challenge in performing sphenopalatine ganglion block with enlarged coronoid process: Jacob's disease.
Sphenopalatine ganglion block for the treatment of cluster headache has been well-described for medically refractory cases. Technical challenges in performing this procedure via the mandibular notch can be found in patients with elongation of the coronoid process. Objectives include correlation of physical exam findings and computed tomography (CT) imaging, followed by recommendations for future treatment. ⋯ Patients with diminished oral interincisal opening and deviation of the jaw to one side are consistent with Jacob's disease. Using a bite block in these patients may be critical to completion of the procedure.