Randomized trial of group cognitive behavioral therapy compared with a pain education control for low-literacy rural people with chronic pain.
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Laser Doppler imaging: usefulness in chronic pain medicine.
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Sympathetic nervous system dysfunction is thought to be a factor in neuropathic pain conditions such as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and in vascular conditions such as Raynaud's phenomenon. Laser Doppler fluxmetry has been used as a fast non-invasive method to quantify changes in skin capillary blood flow which reflect activation of sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction of the arterioles that supply the capillaries. Studies of dynamic change of skin capillary blood flow with sympathetic activation such as cold or inspiratory gasp have generally used single point laser Doppler systems where the probe is in contact with the skin. The results are a single line tracing representing the capillary flow at a single point on the skin a few millimeters in diameter. Laser Doppler imaging (moorLDI laser Doppler imager, Moor Instruments Ltd.) allows for non-contact recording of skin blood flow of an area as large as 50 centimeters square with a resolution of 256 by 256 pixels and 4 milliseconds per pixel. Most work with laser Doppler imaging has studied changes that occur between successive scans. We have found it useful to look at changes that occur during a scan. In this way we obtain data that is comparable to the time resolution of single point laser Doppler methods, but with the larger spatial information that is available with laser Doppler imaging. We present a small series of case reports in which inspiratory gasp during laser Doppler imaging was able to provide quick, useful and unequivocal clinical information regarding the status of regional bilateral skin capillary response to sympathetic activation. This may be useful for distinguishing sympathetically mediated from sympathetically independent pain. We believe the methods described may provide the basis for future quantitative studies similar to those that use single point laser Doppler methods. (+info)
A randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, double-dummy, parallel-group study to determine the safety and efficacy of oxycodone/naloxone prolonged-release tablets in patients with moderate/severe, chronic cancer pain.
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Endocrine and behavioural effects of transdermal buprenorphine in pain-suffering women of different reproductive ages.
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Chronic pain is a common problem in clinical practice and women are affected more often than men. Morphine is often used for long-term pain relief, but it induces side effects including endocrine alterations. The aim of the present study was to assess the behavioural and hormonal effects of transdermal buprenorphine in women suffering from persistent non-malignant pain. Hormones (LH, FSH, total and free testosterone, estradiol, cortisol) and pain measures (visual analogue scale, McGill Pain questionnaire, present pain intensity test) were evaluated at baseline and after 1, 3 and 6 months. Subjects were recruited in the Second University of Naples Pain Research Centre. Eighteen chronic pain women were included in the study, divided into pre- and post-menopausal groups. A transdermal buprenorphine patch (Buprenorphine TDS, 35 microg/h) was administered every 72 h. As expected, buprenorphine administration led to a decrease in pain intensity and no side effects suggestive of hypogonadism were recorded. Pain measures decreased at the first control visit (T1) in both groups. Total and free testosterone were not reduced by treatment (they tended to increase in both groups) while cortisol progressively recovered from the quite low levels detected at the beginning of treatment. These data confirm that buprenorphine is a safe and effective drug for pain relief in women. It is free from the adverse effects on gonadal hormones frequently associated with other opioid treatments. The lack of opioid-induced effects on gonadal hormones (i.e., hypogonadism) is important to guarantee safe long-term pain treatment. (+info)
A theory-based educational intervention targeting nurses' attitudes and knowledge concerning cancer-related pain management: a study protocol of a quasi-experimental design.
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