Articles: chronic.
-
To establish the scope of the problem of chronic pain in the population, we need to extend the focus on prevalence, the most frequently studied factor. Among other important factors is the complex relationship between the temporal characteristics of pain and their impact on peoples' lives. The purpose of the present study was to describe the characteristics of chronic pain, including pattern, severity, location, spread, and duration, in a population-based sample and to investigate the relationships between pain pattern and impact on the individual's life measured by interference with life and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). ⋯ Hierarchical stepwise regression analyses showed that pain pattern and severity accounted for 44.4% variance for life interference. The range of the variances for these variables for the five domains of HRQoL was from 7.3% (mental health) to 53.3% (bodily pain). Pain pattern and severity are the most significant predictors of the impact of chronic pain on individual's daily life.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized trial of functional electrical stimulation for walking in incomplete spinal cord injury: Effects on walking competency.
Multi-channel surface functional electrical stimulation (FES) for walking has been used to improve voluntary walking and balance in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). ⋯ Task-oriented training improves walking ability in individuals with incomplete SCI, even in the chronic stage. Further randomized controlled trials, involving a large number of participants are needed, to verify if FES-assisted treadmill training is superior to aerobic and strength training.
-
J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Sep 2014
Comparative StudyClinicians' perspective on the use of immunoassay versus definitive laboratory quantitation methodologies for medication monitoring.
Treating chronic pain is complicated. Primary care doctors and others are called on to treat the vast majority of patients with pain, to do so in brief visits and to do it safely. This is a tall order, but it is possible to do it well when the proper tools are employed to aid the clinician in diagnosing and monitoring the patient. ⋯ When medically necessary, it makes sense to seek definitive testing from the laboratory to confirm results of immunoassay tests with chromatographic testing and/or when there is the possibility of a false negative in the office. These "false negatives" are extremely common, with patients using nonprescribed opioids and illicit medications often go undetected if one were to stop at the office-based result. These patients are in danger of addiction and overdose, and this added information is crucial in efforts to treat pain and avoid these complications.
-
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Surgical removal of the tumor at an early stage can be curative. However, lung cancer diagnosis at an early stage remains challenging. There is evidence that free fatty acids play a role in cancer development. ⋯ Serum fatty acids and their metabolites demonstrate good sensitivity and specificity for the identification of adenocarcinoma of the lung.