The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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A variety of approaches have been used to develop diagnostic criteria for chronic pain. The published evidence of the reliability and validity of existing diagnostic criteria is limited, and these criteria have typically not been used in clinical practice. The availability of a widely accepted, consistently applied, and evidence-based taxonomy of diagnostic criteria would improve the quality of clinical research on chronic pain and would be of great value in clinical practice. To address the need for evidence-based diagnostic criteria for the major chronic pain conditions, the Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION) public-private partnership with the US Food and Drug Administration and the American Pain Society (APS) have collaborated on the development of the ACTTION-APS Pain Taxonomy (AAPT). AAPT provides a multidimensional framework that is applied systematically in the development of diagnostic criteria. This article (1) describes the background and rationale for AAPT; (2) presents the AAPT taxonomy and the specific conditions for which diagnostic criteria have been developed (to be published separately); (3) briefly reviews the 5 dimensions that constitute the AAPT multidimensional framework and describes the 7 accompanying articles that discuss these dimensions and other important issues involving AAPT; and (4) provides an overview of next steps, specifically, the general processes by which the initial set of diagnostic criteria (for which the evidence base has been drawn from the literature, systematic reviews, and secondary analyses of existing databases) will undergo additional assessments of reliability and validity. ⋯ To address the need for evidence-based diagnostic criteria for the major chronic pain conditions, the AAPT provides a multidimensional framework that is applied systematically in the development of diagnostic criteria. The long-term objective of AAPT is to advance the scientific understanding of chronic pain and its treatment.
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The recently proposed Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION)-American Pain Society (APS) Pain Taxonomy (AAPT) provides an evidence-based, multidimensional, chronic pain classification system. Psychosocial factors play a crucial role within several dimensions of the taxonomy. In this article, we discuss the evaluation of psychosocial factors that influence the diagnosis and trajectory of chronic pain disorders. We review studies in individuals with a variety of persistent pain conditions, and describe evidence that psychosocial variables play key roles in conferring risk for the development of pain, in shaping long-term pain-related adjustment, and in modulating pain treatment outcomes. We consider "general" psychosocial variables such as negative affect, childhood trauma, and social support, as well as "pain-specific" psychosocial variables that include pain-related catastrophizing, self-efficacy for managing pain, and pain-related coping. Collectively, the complexity and profound variability in chronic pain highlights the need to better understand the multidimensional array of interacting forces that determine the trajectory of chronic pain conditions. ⋯ The AAPT is an evidence-based chronic pain classification system in which psychosocial concepts and processes are essential in understanding the development of chronic pain and its effects. In this article we review psychosocial processes that influence the onset, exacerbation, and maintenance of chronic pain disorders.
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The psychosocial and functional consequences of chronic pain disorders have been well documented as having significant effects on the experience of pain, presentation to health care providers, responsiveness to and participation in treatment, disability, and health-related quality of life. Thus, psychosocial and functional consequences have been incorporated as 1 of the 5 dimensions within the integrated Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION)-American Pain Society (APS) Pain Taxonomy (AAPT): 1) core diagnostic criteria; 2) common features; 3) common medical comorbidities; 4) neurobiological, psychosocial, and functional consequences; and 5) putative neurobiological and psychosocial mechanisms, risk factors, and protective factors. In this article we review the rationale for a biopsychosocial perspective, on the basis of current evidence, and describe a set of key psychosocial and behavioral factors (eg, mood/affect, coping resources, expectations, sleep quality, physical function, and pain-related interference with daily activities) that are important consequences of persistent pain and that should be considered when classifying patients within the comprehensive AAPT chronic pain structure. We include an overview of measures and procedures that have been developed to assess this set of factors and that can be used as part of the comprehensive assessment and classification of pain and to address specific research questions. ⋯ Psychosocial and functional consequences are important considerations in the classification of individuals with chronic pain. A set of key psychosocial and behavioral factors (eg, mood/affect, coping resources, expectations, sleep quality, physical function, and pain-related interference with daily activities) that should be considered when classifying patients within the comprehensive classification of chronic pain disorders developed by the AAPT are outlined and examples of assessment methods for each are described.
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An ideal taxonomy of chronic pain would be applicable to people of all ages. Developmental sciences focus on lifespan developmental approaches, and view the trajectory of processes in the life course from birth to death. In this article we provide a review of lifespan developmental models, describe normal developmental processes that affect pain processing, and identify deviations from those processes that lead to stable individual differences of clinical interest, specifically the development of chronic pain syndromes. The goals of this review were 1) to unify what are currently separate purviews of "pediatric pain," "adult pain," and "geriatric pain," and 2) to generate models so that specific elements of the chronic pain taxonomy might include important developmental considerations. ⋯ A lifespan developmental model is applied to the forthcoming Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks-American Pain Society Pain Taxonomy to ascertain the degree to which general "adult" descriptions apply to pediatric and geriatric populations, or if age- or development-related considerations need to be invoked.