Articles: chronic-pain.
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Expert Rev Clin Pharmacol · Nov 2008
Transdermal buprenorphine in chronic pain: indications and clinical experience.
Transdermal buprenorphine has been shown to be effective in managing moderate-to-severe cancer pain and severe pain that is unresponsive to nonopioid analgesics. In clinical trials, it provided better pain relief than placebo, despite a higher consumption of rescue analgesia by placebo patients. Analgesia was rated as satisfactory or better by 90% of patients in a long-term follow-up study and 94.6% considered the buprenorphine matrix patch to be user friendly. ⋯ No problems have been encountered when switching from another opioid to transdermal buprenorphine, or in combining the buprenorphine patch with intravenous morphine or tramadol for breakthrough pain. There is a growing body of evidence that transdermal buprenorphine may be particularly useful for managing neuropathic pain. Most notably, it appears to be effective in treating hyperalgesic states and syndromes characterized by pronounced central sensitization.
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Objectives. This study is to evaluate long-term lead failure in spinal cord stimulation. Materials and Methods. One hundred and seven patients with permanently implanted spinal cord stimulators were studied for 14 years. All suspected paddle-lead failures were studied prospectively using preoperative radiography and intraoperative electric interrogation. ⋯ The mean time to primary lead failure was 37.9 months and to recurrent lead failure was 23.7 months. Conclusion. The incidence of primary lead failure remains low at 14.9% in the long run, but it is a significant adverse risk factor for recurrent paddle-lead failure. Great care should be undertaken to prevent lead failures by appropriate anchoring.
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Objective. This descriptive study compares outcome measures of a computerized assessment of pain, emotional distress, and quality of life between chronic noncancer pain patients who have received an implantable device (spinal cord stimulator or intrathecal pump; N = 143) and those who have not received a device (N = 130). Methods. Each patient marked the location of their pain on a body diagram and rated pain intensity, emotional distress, and impact of their pain on mood, sleep, and quality of life using a computerized pain assessment program. An electronic version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) also was administered. ⋯ The patients with implantable devices also scored lower on the HADS Depression Subscale. Conclusion. The results suggest that although patients with an implantable device seem to have more pathology and greater disability, they report less emotional distress and improved quality of life compared with patients with chronic pain without an implantable device. Future controlled trials are needed to establish the role that an implantable device plays in improving mood and quality of life.
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Two cases of chronic pelvic pain of unknown etiology with symptoms referable to the low abdominal wall are presented. These patients are often difficult to manage because of multiple causes and multiple pathways for pain transmission from the pelvis. ⋯ The patients reported excellent relief of their chronic pelvic pain. The use of neuromodulation via peripheral stimulation deserves further investigation as an alternative to spinal cord stimulation for chronic pelvic pain.
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Neuropathic facial pain often is a very difficult problem to treat. We describe three cases of intractable neuropathic facial pain which were successfully treated with peripheral stimulation. These three cases review trialing, operative considerations, including cosmetic considerations, and provide some insight into the pathophysiology of these pain syndromes.