Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Pain is a common symptom in Parkinson disease (PD). ⋯ Pain was weakly correlated with performance in general activities and with bradykinesia but was not correlated with the remaining classic motor PD symptoms, either gait or balance performance. Pain was a prevalent symptom in the present sample, and the individuals reported its interference with functionality.
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Cervical epidural steroid injection (CESI) with local anesthetics is commonly used to treat neck pain and radicular pain of the upper extremity. Local anesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST) occurs shortly after injection as a complication; however, delayed onset is a very rare event, especially in central nervous system (CNS) block. ⋯ Delayed onset of LAST is a rare complication of a common procedure in CESI, so it is important to be aware of this complication and the presentation of toxicity.
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Computerized methods to analyze pain drawings (PDs) have been developed and may aid to measure the pain area more precisely. ⋯ Our results show that intra- and inter-rater reliabilities were excellent when an examiner reproduced the paper PDs into digitalized PDs. This process gives clinicians and researchers the opportunity to analyze pain extent more precisely using a computerized method.
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Patients with chronic pain treated with opioids are at an increased risk for opioid misuse or opioid use disorder (OUD). Recent years have seen a stark increase in abuse, misuse, and diversion of prescription opioid medications. The aim of this study was to investigate trends in changing rates of opioid use disorder among patients with chronic pain. ⋯ These findings suggest that the prevalence of OUD increased substantially from 2011 to 2015. Disparities of OUD with increasing opioid use among vulnerable populations including women, those with Medicare insurance, tobacco use disorder, and low annual income should be explored further.
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Pain management after surgery is crucial to decrease perioperative morbidity and mortality. Acute pain services (APS) are multidisciplinary teams that represent a modern strategy to address pain inside hospitals. The APS defines and applies pain treatment protocols specific for each surgery. To evaluate the performance of the APS at our institute, we performed a large retrospective cohort study focusing on complications of epidural analgesia and IV opiates. ⋯ In our large case series, APS was confirmed safe and effective in treating postoperative pain, using both epidural analgesia and IV PCA with morphine.