The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
-
Chronic pain is a major public health concern, and widespread use of prescription opioids for chronic pain has contributed to the escalating problem of opioid use disorder. Interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation programs (IPRPs) can be highly effective in discontinuing opioids in patients with chronic pain while also improving functional status. This study sought to examine self-report and performance-based functional outcomes of 2 cohorts of patients enrolled in a 3-week IPRP: patients engaged in interdisciplinary pain treatment and physician-supervised opioid taper versus nonopioid users engaged in interdisciplinary treatment. ⋯ Group × Period interactions were nonsignificant whereas period effects were significant for all outcomes in directions indicating improvement (Ps < .001) at discharge from the program and at 6 months, irrespective of opioid use status. Results support the assertion that IPRPs lead to significant improvements in subjective as well as objective indices of function, irrespective of opioid use status. Implications for our findings are discussed.
-
In this research, we examined effects of higher versus lower threat contexts on attention biases in more and less pain-fearful chronic pain subgroups via eye-tracking methodology. Within a mixed chronic pain sample (69 women, 29 men), biases in orienting and maintenance of visual attention were assessed during the standardized image pair presentation phase (2,000 ms) of a modified visual dot probe task featuring painful-neutral (P-N) image pairs (lower threat context) and a parallel task in which these P-N pairs cued potential pain (higher threat context). ⋯ Although trait-based fear of pain was not related to any gaze bias index in either task, between task analyses indicated the sample reported more state fear, directed their initial gaze less often, and displayed longer overall gaze durations toward pain images in the higher threat context in which P-N trials signaled potential pain. Results supported the threat interpretation model premise that persons with chronic pain have difficulty disengaging from moderately threatening visual painful cues.
-
Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a complex pain disorder that can emerge after limb trauma or a lesion in the peripheral nervous system. Typical features include continuing pain, sensory, vasomotor, sudomotor, motor, and trophic changes as well as edema. These signs provide the basis of CRPS diagnosis. ⋯ We identified 11 distinct etiological triggers, which cover more than 99% of the study participants. We developed a weighted score on the basis of the most decisive data, which achieved a sensitivity of .869 and a specificity of .829, compared with .819 and .679 for the Budapest criteria. The weighted diagnostic criteria may help to better aid in distinguishing CRPS from other pain disorders.
-
Review Meta Analysis
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain: Update of an Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis.
Despite wide use in clinical practice, acupuncture remains a controversial treatment for chronic pain. Our objective was to update an individual patient data meta-analysis to determine the effect size of acupuncture for 4 chronic pain conditions. We searched MEDLINE and the Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials randomized trials published up until December 31, 2015. ⋯ We conclude that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain, with treatment effects persisting over time. Although factors in addition to the specific effects of needling at correct acupuncture point locations are important contributors to the treatment effect, decreases in pain after acupuncture cannot be explained solely in terms of placebo effects. Variations in the effect size of acupuncture in different trials are driven predominantly by differences in treatments received by the control group rather than by differences in the characteristics of acupuncture treatment.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
"It Encourages Them to Complain": A Qualitative Study of the Unintended Consequences of Assessing Patient-Reported Pain.
The "Pain as the 5th Vital Sign" initiative intended to address undertreatment of pain by encouraging routine pain assessment and management. In the Veterans Health Administration, routine pain screening has been practiced in primary care for more than a decade, but has not improved the quality of pain management measured using several process indicators, and some have expressed concerns of potentially fostering undesirable use of prescription opioids. ⋯ We identified 5 themes reflecting 1 intended and 4 unintended consequences of routine pain screening: it 1) facilitates identification of patients with pain who might otherwise be overlooked, 2) may need to be targeted toward specific patients and contexts rather than universally applied, 3) often shifts visit focus away from more emergent concerns, 4) may encourage "false positives" and prompt providers to intervene when treatment is not a priority, and 5) engenders a "pain problem" and hinders patients from considering alternative strategies. These findings suggest changes to support patient-centered pain assessment and improve targeted screening and interventions for population pain management.