Articles: pain-clinics.
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Advances in therapy · May 2012
Multicenter StudyBreakthrough pain in patients referred to pain clinics: the Italian pain network retrospective study.
Despite breakthrough pain (BTP) being one of the most severe forms of pain, there are no definitive data on its prevalence. ⋯ Despite some limitations of the study, the authors show that transient episodes of severe pain or BTP are significantly present both in cancer and other diseases, and that many patients are not yet receiving appropriate opioid therapy. The authors need validated tools at international level for the diagnosis and treatment of BTP in patients with cancer and for transitory and patients with severe non-cancer pain. A survey at national level is needed to estimate the prevalence of BTP in different settings, to plan specific medical education.
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Comparative Study Controlled Clinical Trial
[The length of hospital stay in patients with acute coronary syndrome is reduced by establishing a chest pain unit].
Providing prompt and appropriate therapy, combined with the increased economic requirements of treating patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), places high demands on the emergency department. The aim of the present analysis is to evaluate to what extent establishing a dedicated chest pain unit (CPU) influences the length of hospital stay in ACS patients. ⋯ Establishing a chest pain unit with optimized diagnostic and structural processes is associated with reduced lengths of hospital stay in patients with ACS treated according to current guidelines and recommendations.
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Comparative Study
Prevalence of fibromyalgia syndrome in patients referred to a tertiary pain clinic.
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), the prototypical central pain augmentation syndrome, is characterized by widespread pain and tenderness. Although patients referred to tertiary care pain clinics are recognized as suffering from chronic pain, they are generally considered to have pain attributable to discrete peripheral, nociceptive, or neuropathic etiology.The purpose of the current study was to assess the prevalence of FMS among consecutive patients referred to a tertiary pain clinic and to evaluate the contribution of central pain to the clinical impact upon such patients. ⋯ A significant proportion of patients referred to a tertiary pain clinic were found to fulfill the ACR criteria for classification of FMS and thus exhibit an important element of central pain. Central pain augmentation should be actively searched for and therapeutically addressed in the evaluation and management of all patients with chronic pain.