Articles: pain-clinics.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
Economic evaluation of an implementation strategy for the management of low back pain in general practice.
In connection with the publication of a clinical practice guideline on the management of low back pain (LBP) in general practice in Denmark, a cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted. In this trial, a multifaceted guideline implementation strategy to improve general practitioners' treatment of patients with LBP was compared with a usual implementation strategy. The aim was to determine whether the multifaceted strategy was cost effective, as compared with the usual implementation strategy. ⋯ Sensitivity analyses showed that results were sensitive to uncertainty. In conclusion, the multifaceted implementation strategy was cost saving when compared with the usual strategy for implementing LBP clinical practice guidelines in general practice. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in effect, and the estimate was sensitive to uncertainty.
-
This narrative review discusses the most recent up-to-date findings focused on the currently available "best clinical practice" regarding perioperative anesthesia care bundle factors and their effect on tumor progression. The main objective is to critically appraise the current literature on local anesthetics, regional outcome studies, opioids, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and their ability to decrease recurrence in patients undergoing cancer surgery. A brief discussion of additional topical perioperative factors relevant to the anesthesiologist including volatile and intravenous anesthetics, perioperative stress and anxiety, nutrition, and immune stimulation is included. ⋯ Volatile anesthetics have been shown to increase tumor formation, whereas preclinical and emerging clinical data from propofol indicate tumor protective qualities. The perioperative period in the cancer patient represents a unique environment where surgically mediated stress response leads to immune suppression. Regional anesthesia techniques when indicated in combination with multimodal analgesia that include NSAIDs, opioids, and local anesthetics to prevent the pathophysiologic effects of pain and neuroendocrine stress response should be viewed as an essential part of balanced anesthesia.
-
Reliable and valid measures of pain intensity are needed to accurately evaluate the efficacy of pain treatments. Perhaps with the exception of faces pain intensity scales, which are thought to reflect both pain intensity and pain affect, the other most commonly used pain intensity scales-Numerical Rating Scales (NRSs), Visual Analog Scales, and Verbal Rating Scales (VRSs)-are all thought to reflect primarily pain intensity or the magnitude of felt pain. However, to our knowledge, this assumption has not been directly tested for VRSs.
-
This study examined the relation between return to work and the maintenance of treatment gains made over the course of a rehabilitation intervention. The study sample consisted of 110 individuals who had sustained whiplash injuries in rear collision motor vehicle accidents and were work-disabled at the time of enrolment in the study. Participants completed pre- and post-treatment measures of pain severity, disability, cervical range of motion, depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and catastrophizing. ⋯ The Discussion addresses the processes by which prolonged work-disability might contribute to the failure to maintain treatment gains. Important knowledge gaps still remain concerning the individual, workplace, and system variables that might play a role in whether or not the gains made in the rehabilitation of whiplash injury are maintained. Clinical implications of the findings are also addressed.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Follow-up at the corrected age of 24 months of preterm newborns receiving continuous infusion of fentanyl for pain control during mechanical ventilation.
The neurodevelopmental impact of fentanyl given to preterm newborns for pain control is still unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the neurodevelopmental impact of 2 regimens of fentanyl administration by a prospective follow-up evaluation. In our previous multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, 131 mechanically ventilated newborns (gestational age ≤32 weeks) were randomized to fentanyl (continuous infusion of fentanyl + open label boluses of fentanyl) or placebo (continuous infusion of placebo + open label boluses of fentanyl). ⋯ After adjustment for clinical confounders (gestational age, CRIB score, and sex) only eye-hand co-ordination was associated with fentanyl infusion. This study demonstrates that continuous infusion of fentanyl in very preterm infants, given at 1 mcg·kg·h during mechanical ventilation, is associated with a significant decrease in eye and hand co-ordination skills. Longer follow-up is needed to evaluate the impact on future motor, cognitive, and behavioral functions.