Scandinavian journal of pain
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Background and aims The medical use of opioids in different countries is often subject to public concern and debate, frequently based on rough figures from prescription databases made for registration of consumption. However, public access to some of these databases allow for further exploration of the prescription data, which can be processed to increase knowledge and insight into national opioid prescribing-behavior. Denmark, Sweden and Norway are considered closely related with regard to health care and culture. ⋯ The amounts of dispensed opioids, opioid prescribing habits and changes were compared between the countries, and significant differences appeared. Within each country, the overall picture of opioid consumption appeared rather stable. Implications Studies like this can contribute to qualify the ongoing debates of use of opioids in different nations and to monitor effects of initiatives taken by health-care authorities and health-care policy-makers.
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Background and aims Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) in women is a complex condition that can seriously impact health and quality of life. Clinical guidelines for CPP place great demands on healthcare professionals, as they require both specialized knowledge about the pelvic area and knowledge of the mechanisms of chronic pain. To ensure best possible assessment and treatment of these women it is important to bring about more knowledge of the special CPP features. ⋯ Women with previous surgery report more analgesic use and sick leave, and lower pain intensity during intercourse, than those without previous surgery. Implications This study illustrates the complexity of CPP and highlights the need for health professionals to have specialized knowledge of the possible features of the condition. Previous abuse seems to be more associated with poor scores on several health outcomes than surgery, but this needs to be investigated further.
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Background and aims Pain is a prevalent problem in many countries. Women are more often on sick-leave for pain than men. Such gender differences have been explained through biological factors, different demands for on the job market, and home conditions. ⋯ Moreover, the students trusted the male patients' ability to assess their own work capacity more than women's. Implications It is important that medical students receive education about gender biases and how they may influence medical assessment during their training. Such education may alleviate the influence of gender stereotypes.
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Background and aims Endogenous pain modulation can be studied in humans by conditioned pain modulation (CPM): pain induced by a test stimulus is attenuated by a distantly applied noxious conditioning stimulus. The detection of impaired CPM in individual patients is of potential importance to understand the pathophysiology and predict outcomes. However, it requires the availability of reference values. ⋯ Conclusions This study determined percentile reference values of CPM that can be used to better phenotype patients for clinical and research purposes. The negative value of percentiles suggests that a slightly negative CPM effect can be observed in pain-free volunteers. Implications Pain facilitation rather than inhibition during the conditioning stimulus occurs in some pain-free volunteers and may not necessarily represent an abnormal finding.
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Background and aims Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) often recovers spontaneously within the first year, but when it becomes chronic, available rehabilitative therapies (pharmacological management, physiotherapy, and psychological intervention) have limited effectiveness. This study examined the effect of a 12-week intensive outpatient rehabilitation on pain relief and function in chronic CRPS patients. Rehabilitation program included memantine and morphine treatment (added to patient's prior pain medication) and concurrent psychological and physiotherapeutic intervention. ⋯ Implications These results support the efficacy of an interdisciplinary rehabilitation program for pain and function in chronic CRPS patients. After intervention, some CRPS symptoms reduced and function improved, but distress and quality of life were unchanged. This may be due to the relatively short duration of this program; to delayed effects; to particular cognitive problems of CPRS patients; and/or to low distress levels at baseline that make statistically significant reduction less likely.