Articles: pain-management.
-
Hematol. Oncol. Clin. North Am. · Feb 1996
ReviewPain and symptom control. Patient rights and physician responsibilities.
In considering the care of patients with incurable and terminal diseases, there are three types of interventions: (1) palliative care and symptom management; (2) experimental therapies; and (3) active life-ending interventions. Relief of pain, other symptoms, and suffering should be the basic and standard treatment; the other interventions are meant to supplement, not replace, this intervention. This means the physician's primary obligation is to inform patients about the options for palliative care and to provide quality palliative care. ⋯ With regard to experimental therapies, physicians must obtain full informed consent, provide especially accurate data on the risks and benefits of experimental therapies, and ensure that the patient understands the aims of the proposed therapy. Regarding active life-ending therapies, physicians have the obligation to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment if the patient so desires and to provide adequate pain medication even if this hastens death. Even if euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide are legalized, there is unlikely to be an obligation to provide this intervention.
-
Southern medical journal · Feb 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical TrialEye patch treatment for the pain of corneal abrasion.
The traditional use of patching and topical antibiotics in the treatment of corneal abrasion has recently been challenged, particularly after foreign body removal. In a prospective, controlled, randomized study of 33 patients treated in the emergency department for eye pain and corneal abrasion, we attempted to determine whether eye patching affected the pain of simple corneal abrasions. After fluorescein examination with magnification (x 5), a visual analog pain score was recorded and the patient was randomized to either the patched or nonpatched group. ⋯ There was no significant difference in the mean changes in pain scores between the patched and nonpatched groups. Analgesic use was also similar. We conclude that routine eye patching does not favorably affect the pain associated with the treatment of simple corneal abrasion.
-
Int J Clin Exp Hypn · Jan 1996
ReviewHypnosis treatment of clinical pain: understanding why hypnosis is useful.
Clinical and experimental research literature indicates hypnosis is very useful for severe and persistent pain, yet reviews suggest hypnosis is not widely used. To encourage more widespread clinical application, the author reviews recent controlled clinical studies in which hypnosis compares favorably with other interventions; links advances in understanding endogenous pain modulation to a neurophysiologic view of hypnosis and hypnoanalgesia; relates the neurophysiology of hypnoanalgesia to management of chronic pain; challenges the view that hypnotic pain control is only for the highly hypnotizable patient; and raises issues about how people learn to control pain with hypnosis. Training in hypnotic analgesia may usefully enhance nervous system inhibitory processes that attenuate pain.
-
Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 1996
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialThe effects of electrical stimulation at different frequencies on perception and pain in human volunteers: epidural versus intravenous administration of fentanyl.
The study was performed to determine whether epidural fentanyl produced segmental sensory changes to electrical stimulation at different frequencies. Eight healthy volunteers received fentanyl 1 microgram/kg both intravenously and epidurally in a randomized, double-blind, cross-over fashion. Perception thresholds and amount of current required to elicit a predetermined level of moderate pain (Cmp) at 5,250, and 2000 Hz stimulation were measured at ipsilateral dermatomes C2 and L2 at 0, 5, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min after injection. ⋯ In contrast, epidural fentanyl increased Cmp only at the L2 dermatome and only at 5 Hz (P = 0.005). We conclude that an epidural bolus of fentanyl results in segmental spinal analgesia to transcutaneous electrical stimulation only at specific frequencies. Furthermore, pain produced by stimulation at 5 Hz may have a different pharmacology than pain produced by 250 Hz stimulation.