Articles: pain-management.
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This study compares clinical pain outcomes between patients in a pain treatment program that was conducted in-person, compared to a virtual program. ⋯ While some changes were unique to the In-Person program, overall, patients in the Virtual program achieved similar treatment outcomes, suggesting that it can successfully treat Veterans seeking pain management, with less need for in-person facilities for both patients and clinicians.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2024
Postoperative epidural analgesia and outcomes following pediatric bilateral lung and heart-lung transplantation: a retrospective observational study.
The value of epidural analgesia in pediatric patients having heart and lung transplant surgery is unknown. We aimed to characterize various quality outcomes in patients who did and did not have epidural analgesia. ⋯ Despite a likely improvement in analgesia, we could not demonstrate a definitive impact of epidural analgesia on outcomes in this small cohort of patients. Larger datasets through registries and institutional collaboration will be needed to increase sample size to identify effect sizes and adjust for confounders.
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There is a growing interest in the relationship between nature and pain relief. Evidence from environmental psychology, neuroscience and physiology-based studies point towards analgesic effects of nature being mediated through various cognitive, affective and/or autonomic factors. Being able to harness these therapeutic effects using immersive virtual reality (VR) could help to optimize and improve accessibility of nature-based environments as part of chronic pain management plans. In this narrative review, we present evidence supporting a new theoretical framework for nature-based analgesia and suggest ways for applying this through immersive VR. ⋯ This review article summarizes key multidisciplinary evidence to help understand how nature exerts beneficial effects on pain processing. The use of this theoretical framework alongside advances in immersive VR technologies provides a springboard for future research and can be used to help develop new nature-based therapeutics using VR.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Sep 2024
MRI-derived abdominal adipose tissue is associated with multisite and widespread chronic pain.
Musculoskeletal pain typically occurs in multiple sites; however, no study has examined whether excessive visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue are associated with musculoskeletal pain. This study therefore aimed to describe the associations between MRI-derived abdominal adipose tissue and multisite and widespread chronic musculoskeletal pain. ⋯ Abdominal adipose tissue was associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain, suggesting that excessive and ectopic fat depositions may be involved in the pathogenesis of multisite and widespread chronic musculoskeletal pain. The identified stronger effects in women than men may reflect sex differences in fat distribution and hormones.
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Beliefs and knowledge about pain can influence how an individual approaches pain management. At present, there have been no investigations into the beliefs and knowledge that females hold about their pelvic pain; therefore, pain intervention approaches may not be targeted at current patient understandings. Exploring beliefs and knowledge may help inform and subsequently improve pain intervention outcomes for pelvic pain by allowing more tailored content to be delivered. This study aimed to identify beliefs and knowledge that females hold about their pelvic pain. ⋯ This study provides insight into the perspectives of females with pelvic pain. Recommendations for clinicians are provided with a focus on delivering targeted education and equipping patients with helpful representations of their pain.