The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
-
The 3-item pain intensity (P), interference with the enjoyment of life (E), and interference with general activity (G), or PEG, has become one of the most widely used measures of pain severity and interference. The minimally important differences (MID) and responsiveness of the PEG are essential metrics for solidifying its role in research and clinical care. The current study aims to establish the MID and responsiveness of the PEG by synthesizing data from 1,710 participants across 6 controlled trials. ⋯ Our synthesis indicates that 1 point is a reasonable MID estimate on these 0- to 10-point pain scales, with 2 points being an upper bound. PERSPECTIVE: This article synthesizes data from 6 clinical trials to establish the minimally important difference (MID) and responsiveness of the 3-item PEG pain scale. The PEG demonstrated good responsiveness, and 1 to 2 points proved to be reasonable estimates for the lower and upper bounds of the MID.
-
This survey investigated the prevalence of de novo widespread musculoskeletal post-COVID pain and risk factors for its development in nonhospitalized COVID-19 survivors. A nationwide exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted, including a cohort of 593,741 Danish residents who had suffered from a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection from March 2020 to December 2021. A questionnaire was distributed to the Danish population via the digital mail system (e-Boks). ⋯ PERSPECTIVE: This article presents de novo widespread post-COVID pain prevalence in a cohort of 130,443 citizens infected with COVID-19. The study identifies potential risk factors associated with the development of these new pain symptoms. The results may increase focus on this patient group and potentially help identify predictors for postinfection pain development.
-
Most reports agree that aging negatively impacts pain processing and that the prevalence of chronic pain increases significantly with age. To improve current therapies, it is critical that aged animals be included in preclinical studies. Here we compared sensitivities to pain and itch-provoking stimuli in naïve and injured young and aged mice. ⋯ That observation is consistent with our finding of contralateral hypersensitivity after nerve injury in the aged but not the young mice. We conclude that aging has opposite effects on baseline versus postinjury pain and itch processing. PERSPECTIVE: Aged male and female mice (22-24 months) are less sensitive to mechanical, thermal (heat), and itch-provoking stimuli than are younger mice (6 months).
-
Review Randomized Controlled Trial
Choice Enhances Placebo Hypoalgesia More in Weaker Placebo Contexts: A Partial Reinforcement Study.
Providing individuals with choice over treatment has been found to enhance placebo hypoalgesia. However, this choice effect is not always present. The current study tested whether the strength of the placebo context influenced the effect of choice on placebo hypoalgesia. ⋯ Therefore, choice may be a cheap and effective tool for improving clinical outcomes by facilitating placebo hypoalgesia when the existing treatment context is insufficient to produce placebo hypoalgesia itself. PERSPECTIVE: This study demonstrates that the enhancing effect of choice on placebo hypoalgesia is greater in a weaker placebo context. As such, offering choice could be an ethical way to effectively improve pain outcomes when placebo effects cannot be readily produced by the treatment context.
-
Whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) represent a multifactorial condition often accompanied by altered nociceptive processing and psychological factors. This systematic review on acute and chronic WAD aimed to investigate the relationship between quantitative sensory testing (QST) and psychological factors and quantify whether their trajectories over time follow a similar pattern to disability levels. Eight databases were searched until October 2022. ⋯ PERSPECTIVE: Acute WAD show improvements in levels of disability and psychological factors before significant improvements in nociceptive processing are evident. Facilitated nociceptive processing might not be as important as psychological factors in chronic WAD-related disability, which indicates that chronic and acute WAD should not be considered the same entity although there are similarities. Nonetheless, pressure pain thresholds in the neck might be the most appropriate measure to monitor WAD progression.