The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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Using a simple approach for coding pain severity, the present study describes self-reported pain in U.S. adults. Data are included for 8,781 adults who completed the Functioning and Disability Supplement of the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. An internationally piloted pain severity coding system was used to group participants into 5 discrete ordered pain categories based on their pain persistence (days with pain in the last 3 months) and bothersomeness (little, a lot, somewhere in between): pain free and categories 1 (low) to 4 (high). It is estimated that 126.1 million adults reported some pain in the previous 3 months, with 25.3 million adults (11.2%) suffering from daily (chronic) pain and 23.4 million (10.3%) reporting a lot of pain. Based on the persistence and bothersomeness of their pain, 14.4 million adults (6.4%) were classified as having the highest level of pain, category 4, with an additional 25.4 million adults (11.3%) experiencing category 3 pain. Individuals with category 3 or 4 pain were likely to have worse health status, to use more health care, and to suffer from more disability than those with less severe pain. Associations were seen between pain severity and selected demographic variables including race, ethnicity, preferred language, sex, and age. ⋯ U.S. estimates of pain prevalence are presented using a simple approach for assigning pain severity developed by the Washington Group on Disability Statistics. Concurrent validity is assessed. Although this approach is promising, additional work is required to determine the usefulness of the Washington Group pain categories for pain research or clinical practice.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The Contribution of Differential Opioid Responsiveness to Identification of Opioid Risk in Chronic Pain Patients.
The Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain-Revised (SOAPP-R) predicts increased risk of opioid misuse in chronic pain patients. We evaluated whether higher SOAPP-R scores are associated with greater opioid reinforcing properties, potentially contributing to their predictive utility. Across 2 counterbalanced laboratory sessions, 55 chronic low back pain sufferers completed the SOAPP-R at baseline and measures of back pain intensity, evoked pain responsiveness (thermal, ischemic), and subjective opioid effects after receiving intravenous morphine (.08 mg/kg) or saline placebo. Morphine effect measures were derived for all outcomes, reflecting the difference between morphine and placebo condition values. Higher SOAPP-R scores were significantly associated with greater desire to take morphine again, less feeling down and feeling bad, and greater reductions in sensory low back pain intensity following morphine administration. This latter effect was due primarily to SOAPP-R content assessing medication-specific attitudes and behavior. Individuals exceeding the clinical cutoff (18 or higher) on the SOAPP-R exhibited significantly greater morphine liking, desire to take morphine again, and feeling sedated; less feeling bad; and greater reductions in sensory low back pain following morphine. The SOAPP-R may predict elevated opioid risk in part by tapping into individual differences in opioid reinforcing effects. ⋯ Based on placebo-controlled morphine responses, associations were observed between higher scores on a common opioid risk screener (SOAPP-R) and greater desire to take morphine again, fewer negative subjective morphine effects, and greater analgesia. Opioids may provide the best analgesia in those patients at greatest risk of opioid misuse.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy of Inhaled Cannabis on Painful Diabetic Neuropathy.
A randomized, double-blinded, placebo controlled crossover study was conducted in 16 patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy to assess the short-term efficacy and tolerability of inhaled cannabis. In a crossover design, each participant was exposed to 4 single dosing sessions of placebo or to low (1% tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]), medium (4% THC), or high (7% THC) doses of cannabis. Baseline spontaneous pain, evoked pain, and cognitive testing were performed. Subjects were then administered aerosolized cannabis or placebo and the pain intensity and subjective "highness" score was measured at 5, 15, 30, 45, and 60 minutes and then every 30 minutes for an additional 3 hours. Cognitive testing was performed at 5 and 30 minutes and then every 30 minutes for an additional 3 hours. The primary analysis compared differences in spontaneous pain over time between doses using linear mixed effects models. There was a significant difference in spontaneous pain scores between doses (P < .001). Specific significant comparisons were placebo versus low, medium, and high doses (P = .031, .04, and <.001, respectively) and high versus low and medium doses (both P < .001). There was a significant effect of the high dose on foam brush and von Frey evoked pain (both P < .001). There was a significant negative effect (impaired performance) of the high dose on 2 of the 3 neuropsychological tests (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, Trail Making Test Part B. ⋯ This small, short-term, placebo-controlled trial of inhaled cannabis demonstrated a dose-dependent reduction in diabetic peripheral neuropathy pain in patients with treatment-refractory pain. This adds preliminary evidence to support further research on the efficacy of the cannabinoids in neuropathic pain.