Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Survey of phantom limb pain, phantom sensation and stump pain in Cambodian and New Zealand amputees.
The primary objective of this study is to compare the prevalence of phantom limb pain in New Zealand and Cambodian amputees and to assess the demographics of a sample of amputees from these two countries. ⋯ Despite very different environments, there was no difference in the phantom limb pain between the groups. One possible explanation is that the severity of neurological injury associated with amputation overrides all the other risk factors that influence the development of other chronic pain syndromes.
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The objective of this study was to present a case of trigger point injection-related pneumothorax treated by computed tomography (CT)-guided needle aspiration. ⋯ CT-guided needle aspiration is a viable management option for symptomatic patients with iatrogenic pneumothorax.
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Research has shown that painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (pDPN) is associated with worse health outcomes. However, among pDPN patients, few studies have examined the relationship between the severity of pain and health outcomes. ⋯ These results suggest that pain severity contributes substantially to the health outcomes of pDPN patients and that greater resources should be allocated to the management of patients with severe pain.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The association between hydroxyurea treatment and pain intensity, analgesic use, and utilization in ambulatory sickle cell anemia patients.
We compared daily pain, home analgesic use, and utilization among ambulatory adults in the randomized multicenter study of hydroxyurea in sickle cell anemia (MSH). We related the fetal hemoglobin (HbF) hydroxyurea response to these response variables. ⋯ Hydroxyurea usage led to a small, statistically significant reduction in daily pain, analgesic use, and utilization in adults in MSH, corroborating previously shown larger reductions in crises and mortality. The degree of daily symptomatic reduction was related to the size of the HbF treatment response, further confirming HbF response as a useful laboratory correlate.
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We report a case of acute lower extremity compartment syndrome that was diagnosed despite continuous regional analgesia with 0.2% ropivacaine via femoral and sciatic nerve catheters. ⋯ Despite concerns of masking pain that may be secondary to compartment syndrome, this case demonstrates that compartment syndrome can be diagnosed in the presence of effective regional anesthesia. Careful clinical evaluation coupled with a high index of suspicion is essential in the timely diagnosis and effective treatment of compartment syndrome.