The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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Comparative Study
Development of a measure of the burden of pain due to herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia for prevention trials: adaptation of the brief pain inventory.
In preparation for clinical trials of a vaccine against herpes zoster (HZ), we conducted a prospective, observational study to evaluate (1) the Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI), an HZ-specific questionnaire to quantify HZ pain and discomfort, (2) an operational definition of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN), and (3) a severity-duration measure of the burden of illness caused by HZ. HZ patients aged 60 years or older (n = 121) were enrolled within 14 days of rash onset and completed ZBPI, McGill Pain Questionnaire Present Pain Intensity (PPI), quality of life (QoL), and activities of daily living (ADL) questionnaires on a predetermined schedule. Reliability, measured by intraclass correlation coefficients within 14 days of rash onset, ranged between 0.63 and 0.78. ZBPI pain scores were strongly correlated with other pain measures, interference with ADL, and worsening QoL. The operational definition of PHN, a ZBPI pain score of 3 or greater occurring 90 or more days after rash onset, had high agreement with pain worse than mild on the PPI (kappa = 0.72). The ZBPI pain severity-duration measure had high correlations with severity-duration measures of ADL interference, worsening QoL, and other pain scales. These findings support the validity and utility of the ZBPI, the definition of PHN, and the severity-duration measure of the burden of HZ illness. ⋯ Herpes zoster pain, as measured by the ZBPI severity-duration measure, is associated with impairment in daily living activities and quality of life. The ZBPI measure appears useful for quantifying herpes zoster pain, postherpetic neuralgia, and impairment in daily living activities for clinical trials of herpes zoster prevention.
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Comparative Study
Ethnic differences in pain coping: factor structure of the coping strategies questionnaire and coping strategies questionnaire-revised.
Coping has been examined extensively in the pain literature, although coping instruments have been typically validated in clinical populations with little ethnic diversity. This study examined the factor structure of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and the CSQ-Revised (CSQ-R) in 650 healthy male and female African American (44%) and white (56%) subjects and explored associations of coping to health and pain-related measures. Factor analyses revealed 6 components for each ethnic group, accounting for comparable amounts of variance and resembling previously reported CSQ subscales. Internal consistency for both ethnic groups was acceptable (0.72-0.91). There were significant main effects for ethnicity on 4 of the CSQ-R scales (P < .05). No ethnic differences in pain or health variables emerged, although when split into high-pain versus minimal-pain groups, differences were revealed on catastrophizing. Results indicate that the factor structure of the CSQ-R in healthy adults is similar to clinical populations and is comparable across African American and white subjects. Group differences on CSQ-R scales suggest potentially important ethnic influences on pain coping. These findings support the use of the CSQ-R to assess coping in African Americans and in healthy young adults. Additional clinical research is needed to determine the practical importance of group differences in pain coping. ⋯ Coping has been examined extensively in the pain literature, although coping instruments typically have been validated in clinical populations with little ethnic diversity. This study examines the factor structure of the CSQ-Revised in an ethnically diverse population and supports the use of the CSQ-R to assess coping in African Americans and in healthy young adults.
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Chemical acupuncture with diluted bee venom (DBV), termed apipuncture, has been traditionally used in oriental medicine to treat several inflammatory diseases and chronic pain conditions. In the present study we investigated the potential antihyperalgesic and antiallodynic effects of apipuncture in a rat neuropathic pain model. DBV (0.25 mg/kg, subcutaneous) was injected into the Zusanli acupoint 2 weeks after chronic constrictive injury (CCI) of the sciatic nerve. Between 5 and 45 minutes after DBV injection, we observed a significant reduction in the thermal hyperalgesia induced by CCI, but apipuncture failed to reduce CCI-induced mechanical allodynia. We subsequently examined whether this antihyperalgesic effect of apipuncture was related to the activation of spinal opioid receptors and/or alpha2-adrenoceptors. Intrathecal pretreatment with naloxone (10 microg/rat), an opioid receptor antagonist, did not reverse the antihyperalgesic effect of apipuncture, whereas pretreatment with idazoxan (40 microg/rat), an alpha2-adrenoceptor antagonist, completely blocked the effect of apipuncture. These results indicate that DBV-induced apipuncture significantly reduces the thermal hyperalgesia generated by CCI and also suggest that this antihyperalgesic effect is dependent on the activation of alpha2-adrenoceptors, but not opioid receptors, in the spinal cord. ⋯ The antinociceptive effect of apipuncture was evaluated in a rodent neuropathic pain model. The relieving effect of apipuncture on thermal hyperalgesia was found to be mediated by spinal alpha2-adrenoceptors, but not opioid receptors. These data suggest that apipuncture might be an effective alternative therapy for patients with painful peripheral neuropathy, especially for those who are poorly responsive to opioid analgesics.
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Comparative Study
Population-based survey of pain in the United States: differences among white, African American, and Hispanic subjects.
A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted in nationally representative probability sample of non-Hispanic white subjects, non-Hispanic African American subjects, and Hispanic subjects of any race to explore relationships between chronic pain and race or ethnicity. Approximately one third in each group reported "frequent or persistent pain" for 3 months or longer during the past year, and approximately one third of the 454 white subjects, 447 African American subjects, and 434 Hispanic subjects in the final sample experienced "disabling pain" (defined as both high severity and high functional interference). White subjects had pain longer but with lesser intensity than the other groups, and pain-related life interference did not vary. Significantly fewer Hispanic subjects (68%) than white subjects (82%) or African American subjects (85%) had visited a physician for pain, and African American subjects (81%) were more likely than white subjects (75%) or Hispanic subjects (63%) to have used prescription medications. Disabling pain was positively associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.45), income of $25,000 or less (OR, 1.71), less than a high school education (OR, 1.72), and divorce (OR, 1.69) and was negatively associated with younger age (18-34 years; OR, 0.68), income between $25,000 and $74,999 (OR, 0.64) or $75,000 or more (OR, 0.37), being employed (OR, 0.48), suburban residence (OR, 0.64), and having a college (OR, 0.51) or graduate (OR, 0.32) degree. Multivariate logistic regression found that income of $25,000 or less (OR, 2.54), less than a high school education (OR, 1.59), and being unemployed (OR, 1.50) remained significant when other factors were controlled. Neither race nor ethnicity predicted disabling pain, but the minorities had more characteristics identified as predictors. The data suggest that race and ethnicity contribute to clinical diversity, but socioeconomic disadvantage is the more important predictor of disabling pain. ⋯ Race and ethnicity influence the presentation and treatment of chronic pain. This study evaluated community-dwelling white, African American, and Hispanic subjects by using a sophisticated telephone survey methodology. Pain was highly prevalent across groups, and there were racial and ethnic differences in pain experience and treatment preferences. Race and ethnicity were not independently associated with severe pain, but both minorities were more likely to possess the socioeconomic and educational characteristics that were associated.
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Children's memories of painful experiences can have long-term consequences for their reaction to later painful events and their acceptance of later health care interventions. This review surveys research on children's memory for pain, emphasizing implications for clinical practice. Topics reviewed include consequences of children's memories of pain; the development of memory; differences between explicit (declarative, verbal, autobiographic) memory and implicit (nondeclarative, nonverbal) memory; and individual differences, situational, and methodologic factors affecting memories of pain. Methods to prevent the adverse consequences of remembered pain are addressed with reference to current research on editing or reframing memories. ⋯ This review covers topics of value to clinicians providing care to children undergoing painful procedures. Specific recommendations are offered regarding the importance of acknowledging and assessing children's previous memories of painful experiences, the type of information that benefits children before and after procedures, and the most appropriate questioning strategies. It might be possible to prevent or reduce the adverse effects of memories of pain.