Intrathecal pain treatment for severe pain in patients with terminal cancer: A retrospective analysis of treatment-related complications and side effects.

Objectives: Two-thirds of patients with advanced cancer experience pain. Some of these patients have severe pain refractory to oral and parenteral medication, for whom intrathecal pain treatment could be an option. While intrathecal therapy is presently used with good results in clinical practice, the current evidence is limited.

Prediction of Postoperative Pain From Electrical Pain Thresholds After Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

Objective: Early postoperative pain correlates to persisting pain, psychosocial distress, and delayed mobilization with thromboembolic and infectious complications. Electrical pain thresholds (EPT) have shown promising results in being able to predict postoperative pain, but the results are conflicting. The aim of this study was to test whether EPT levels can be used to predict the postoperative pain in patients of both sexes.

Prediction of postoperative pain from assessment of pain induced by venous cannulation and propofol infusion.

Background: Postoperative pain may lead to delayed mobilization, persisting pain, and psychosocial distress. There are no simple and reliable techniques for prediction of postoperative pain. This study was designed to evaluate if pain induced by venous cannulation or propofol injection can be used to predict postoperative pain.

Effects of staphylococcus toxoid vaccine on pain and fatigue in patients with fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue syndrome.

Positive results of pilot studies of the effect of staphylococcus toxoid vaccine in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome were the incitement to the present, placebo-controlled study. It included 28 patients who fulfilled the criteria for both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. The effect of vaccination with a staphylococcus toxoid was compared with the effect of injections of sterile water.

Relations between self-rated musculoskeletal symptoms and signs and psychological distress in chronic neck and shoulder pain.

The purposes of the present study were to describe physical and psychological characteristics of 55 chronic pain patients with predominantly nociceptive neck and shoulder complaints, and to explore relationships between physical assessment methods, self-reported pain and psychological distress. The physical measures included cervical and shoulder mobility and muscle tenderness. The Pain Severity and Interference subscales from the Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI), Becks Depression Inventory (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y), and a pain drawing assessed self-reports of pain and psychological distress.

Pain threshold responses to two different modes of sensory stimulation in patients with orofacial muscular pain: psychologic considerations.

This study focuses on the influence of trait anxiety and mood variables on changes in tooth pain threshold following two similar methods of somatic afferent stimulation, one familiar (manual acupuncture) and one unfamiliar (low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation [low-TENS]). Twenty-one acupuncture responders, treated for long-lasting orofacial muscular pain but naive to low-TENS, were selected for the study. In an experimental session, acupuncture and low-TENS were randomly given during two periods separated by a rest interval.

Effects of repeated sensory stimulation sessions (electro-acupuncture) on skin temperature in chronic pain patients.

Changes in skin temperature and haemodynamics were studied during experimentally administered electro-acupuncture before and after a 4-week period of electro-acupuncture (EA) treatments. Subjective pain intensity was evaluated using a pain questionnaire. Twelve patients with long-lasting nociceptive pain were included.

Increased concentrations of homocysteine in the cerebrospinal fluid in patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Twelve outpatients, all women, who fulfilled the criteria for both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome were rated on 15 items of the Comprehensive Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS-15). These items were chosen to constitute a proper neurasthenic subscale. Blood laboratory levels were generally normal.

Effects of monoamines on transmission from group II muscle afferents in sacral segments in the cat.

The effects of one 5-HT1A serotonin agonist (8-OH-DPAT) and of two alpha 2 noradrenaline agonists (tizanidine and B-HT 933) were tested on the transmission between group II muscle afferents and spinal neurons in the sacral segments of the spinal cord in the cat. These agonists have previously been found to depress transmission from group II muscle afferents either in the dorsal horn or in the intermediate zone of midlumbar segments, and this study addressed the question of whether their actions in the sacral segments are similarly selective. The drugs were applied ionophoretically and their effects were tested on field potentials evoked from group II muscle afferents.