Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Review Meta Analysis
Evidence for central sensitization in patients with temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.
Several authors have evaluated different pain measurements, including quantitative sensory testing (QST), temporal summation (TS), and conditioned pain modulation (CPM) in order to determine the presence of central sensitization (CS) and its influence on patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Since there are no convincing studies about this topic, the purpose of this study was to conduct a review of the studies involving CS-related measures in TMD patients. ⋯ These meta-analyses support the existence of differences in widespread pressure pain sensitivity in patients with TMD when compared with asymptomatic subjects. Spinal and central hyperexcitability can be found in TMD patients as shown by an increase in mechanical TS.
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Complex regional pain syndrome is a challenging condition that includes a broad spectrum of sensory, autonomic, and motor features predominantly in extremities recovering from a trauma. Few large-scale studies have addressed occurrence of and factors associated with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) following orthopedic treatment. The present study aimed to identify factors associated with post-treatment development of CRPS. ⋯ Female gender, surgical treatment, and treatment to the upper limb were risk factors. Elective surgery accounted for a large number of post-treatment CRPS patients. In CTS patients developing CRPS, normal neurophysiological examination findings were common, and it could be suspected that these patients were suffering from an pre-clinical stage of CRPS, not CTS.
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Inadequately treated postoperative pain can lead to longer healing processes, longer hospital stays, and the development of chronic pain. In a 900-bed university hospital in Switzerland, pain scores were assessed systematically. The study's primary aim was to define whether the routine pain assessment on the ward is accurate and reproducible. Subsequently the obtained data were used for a benchmark analysis to determine the hospital's performance in pain assessment quality compared with similar centers. ⋯ The cross-sectional data comparison of pain assessment by the ward staff and by interviews with the PAIN OUT questionnaire showed a large gap of underrated pain. The benchmark analysis with the method of PAIN OUT suggests a decent pain management among reference groups.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Increased sympathetic outflow induces adaptation to acute experimental pain.
There are interrelationships between the autonomic nervous system and pain. This study aims to explore the effect of different autonomic manipulations on pain perception and modulation. ⋯ Different effects of acute autonomic manipulations on experimental pain were found: an increase in sympathetic tone induced by yohimbine led to reduced pain sensitivity; a decrease in sympathetic tone with no effect on vagal-parasympathetic tone induced by phenylephrine led to reduction in pain adaptation capacity; and a decrease in sympathetic tone and increase in vagal parasympathetic tone by clonidine led to no change in pain adaptation capacity. While increased sympathetic outflow does facilitate pain adaptation, activation of either the sympathetic or parasympathetic limbs of the autonomic nervous system does not affect pain thresholds or CPM. Finally, a correlation exists between nociception and cardiovascular parameters only due to baroreflex activation.
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Pregnancy is known to aggravate pre-existing chronic painful conditions. Trigeminal neuralgia (TN), albeit a disease of the elderly, may afflict pregnant females, which can further complicate its management. ⋯ This rare coexistence of TN in pregnancy has not been reported before. Here we present a case of TN in a young woman, whose pain was aggravated when she became pregnant, and she was treated successfully by conventional radiofrequency ablation of the Gasserian ganglion.