Axial rotation and pain are associated with facet joint osteoarthritis in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Objective: Facet joints are crucial for spinal stability but develop premature osteoarthritis in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Here, we evaluated the association between facet joint cartilage and subchondral bone homeostasis, perceived back pain and 3-dimensional spinal deformity to better understand the role of facet joint degeneration in AIS progression and pain.

Method: The osteoarthritic state of cartilage and bone of AIS facet joint surgical samples were characterized using histological OARSI scoring, visual morphological grading and μCT analysis, respectively.

Validation of the Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) in pediatric patients undergoing orthopedic surgery.

Background: Postoperative pain cannot be measured accurately among many children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, resulting in underrecognition or delay in recognition of pain. The Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) is a pain assessment tool that has been widely validated in critically ill and postoperative adults.

Aims: The objective of this study was to validate the CPOT for use with pediatric patients able to self-report and undergoing posterior spinal fusion surgery.

The Psychosocial Characteristics and Somatosensory Function of Children and Adolescents Who Meet the Criteria for Chronic Nociplastic Pain.

Purpose: Nociplastic pain distinguishes individuals with pain and hypersensitivity in body regions with apparently normal tissues, without any signs of neuropathy, but with contribution of central and/or peripheral sensitization. There is a lack of literature describing nociplastic pain in the pediatric population. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences between pediatric patients with nociplastic pain compared with patients with non-nociplastic pain.

Electroencephalographic characteristics of children and adolescents with chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Introduction: The pathophysiology of pediatric musculoskeletal (MSK) pain is unclear, contributing to persistent challenges to its management.

Objectives: This study hypothesizes that children and adolescents with chronic MSK pain (CPs) will show differences in electroencephalography (EEG) features at rest and during thermal pain modalities when compared with age-matched controls.

Methods: One hundred forty-two CP patients and 45 age-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent a standardized thermal tonic heat and cold stimulations, while a 21-electrode headset collected EEG data.

Accurate classification of pain experiences using wearable electroencephalography in adolescents with and without chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Objective: We assessed the potential of using EEG to detect cold thermal pain in adolescents with and without chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Methods: Thirty-nine healthy controls (15.2 ± 2.

Clusters of facilitatory and inhibitory conditioned pain modulation responses in a large sample of children, adolescents, and young adults with chronic pain.

Introduction: When investigating the role of facilitatory and inhibitory pain mechanisms such as conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and temporal summation of pain (TSP), it is important to take both into consideration in a single experimental model to provide the most information on subgroups of patients. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify subgroups in a large population of pediatric patients with chronic pain based on their facilitatory and inhibitory pain mechanisms and compare them with control subjects.

Methods: Five hundred twenty-one female subjects and 147 male subjects between 8 and 21 years old underwent a CPM assessment using a 2-minute tonic noxious heat stimulation as the test stimulus and a 2-minute cold-pressor task (CPT) (12°C) as the conditioning stimulus.

Association between the Use of Quantitative Sensory Testing and Conditioned Pain Modulation and the Prescription of Medication and Interventional Procedures in Children with Chronic Pain Conditions.

The evidence supporting the use of pharmacological treatments in pediatric chronic pain is limited. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) and conditioned pain modulation evaluation (CPM) provide information on pain phenotype, which may help clinicians to tailor the treatment. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the association between the use of QST/CPM phenotyping on the selection of the treatment for children with chronic pain conditions.

Experience and Management of the Adverse Effects of Analgesics After Surgery: A Pediatric Patient Perspective.

After surgery, the adverse effects (AEs) of analgesics are common and critical factors influencing the postoperative experience of pediatric patients. Inadequate management of AEs has been found to prolong hospital stay, increase readmission rates and decrease satisfaction with care. The aim of this qualitative descriptive study was to better understand the AEs of analgesics from the perspective of adolescent patients with idiopathic scoliosis after spinal surgery.

Phenotyping Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Male and Female Adolescents: Psychosocial Profiles, Somatosensory Profiles and Pain Modulatory Profiles.

Purpose: A major limitation in treatment outcomes for chronic pain is the heterogeneity of the population. Therefore, a personalized approach to the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with chronic pain conditions is needed. The objective of the study was to subgroup pediatric patients with chronic MSK pain that will be phenotypically different from each other based on their psychosocial profile, somatosensory function, and pain modulation.

Psychosocial and psychophysical assessment in paediatric patients and young adults with chronic back pain: A cluster analysis.

Background: Identifying subgroups with different clinical profiles may inform tailored management and improve outcomes. The objective of this study was to identify psychosocial and psychophysical profiles of children and adolescents with chronic back pain.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-eight patients with chronic back pain were recruited for the study.

Exploration of a Multi-Parameter Technology for Pain Assessment in Postoperative Patients After Cardiac Surgery in the Intensive Care Unit: The Nociception Level Index (NOL).

Introduction: The aim of this study was to explore the use of a multi-parameter technology, the Nociception Level (NOL) index (Medasense Biometrics Ltd, Ramat Gan, Israel), for pain assessment in postoperative awake patients after cardiac surgery during non-nociceptive and nociceptive procedures in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Materials And Methods: A prospective cohort repeated-measures design was used. Patients were included if they were in the ICU after undergoing cardiac surgery and if they could self-report their pain.

Spine Surgeons Burnout and Quality of Life: Results of a Worldwide Survey.

Study Design: Cross-sectional survey study.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of burnout, assess the personal and professional characteristics associated with burnout in spine surgeons and determine their quality of life.

Summary Of Background Data: Burnout is a syndrome characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased sense of accomplishment that leads to decreased effectiveness at work.

Classification of Qualitative Fieldnotes Collected During Quantitative Sensory Testing: A Step Towards the Development of a New Mixed Methods Approach in Pain Research.

Purpose: Quantitative sensory testing (QST) is a standardized method to assess somatosensory function. The collection of qualitative information, during the QST procedure, could be an interesting way to facilitate the characterization of altered sensory perception and the identification of different pain phenotypes. The aims of this study were 1) to classify qualitative fieldnotes of sensory abnormalities collected during an independent QST study, and 2) to generate a qualitative interview guide that could be included in the traditional QST procedure as a step towards the implementation of a mixed methods approach.

Pain Catastrophizing Throughout the Perioperative Period in Adolescents With Idiopathic Scoliosis.

Objectives: Pain catastrophizing in children and adolescents has been associated to unfavorable postsurgical outcomes. However, pain catastrophizing is rarely measured throughout the perioperative period. Using a prospective longitudinal approach, the present study aimed to identify how pain catastrophizing changes over the perioperative period in pediatric surgical patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Clinical use of Electroencephalography in the Assessment of Acute Thermal Pain: A Narrative Review Based on Articles From 2009 to 2019.

Nowadays, no practical system has successfully been able to decode and predict pain in clinical settings. The inability of some patients to verbally express their pain creates the need for a tool that could objectively assess pain in these individuals. Neuroimaging techniques combined with machine learning are seen as possible candidates for the identification of pain biomarkers.

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index: Reliability, Factor Structure, and Related Clinical Factors among Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults with Chronic Pain.

This study is aimed at assessing the psychometric properties and the factorial structure of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in a clinical sample of children, adolescents, and young adults with chronic pain. Data of 482 participants (aged 8-21 years) from two crosssectional studies and a chronic pain services outpatient clinic were analyzed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and reliability analysis of PSQI component scores were performed.

Inpatient postoperative undesirable side effects of analgesics management: a pediatric patients and parental perspective.

Introduction: The use of analgesics for the treatment of post-operative pain is common, however, such medications are known to have potential side effects. These undesirable secondary effects can have an important impact on patients and impede their recovery.

Objectives: A review of the literature was conducted in order to gain a better understanding of the challenges confronted by pediatric patients in the acute post-operative period in terms of the side effects of analgesics.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: evaluating perioperative back pain through a simultaneous morphological and biomechanical approach.

Background: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) has been associated with diminished postural stability and a greater prevalence of back pain. Currently, the literature is lacking information on the effect of spinal fusion on both postural stability and its association with back pain. Our objectives were to evaluate the postsurgical effect of spinal morphological changes on static standing balance and assess the influence of these alterations on reported pain throughout the perioperative period.

Loss of SLC9A6/NHE6 impairs nociception in a mouse model of Christianson syndrome.

Children diagnosed with Christianson syndrome (CS), a rare X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by intellectual disability, epilepsy, ataxia, and mutism, also suffer from hyposensitivity to pain. This places them at risk of sustaining serious injuries that often go unattended. Christianson syndrome is caused by mutations in the alkali cation/proton exchanger SLC9A6/NHE6 that regulates recycling endosomal pH homeostasis and trafficking.

Back pain in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis: the contribution of morphological and psychological factors.

Purpose: To define the relationship between 3D radiological features, psychological factors, and back pain prevalence and intensity in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Methods: Consecutive AIS patients answered self-reported questionnaires and underwent simultaneous posterior-anterior and lateral scans of the spine (EOS Imaging, Paris, France). 3D reconstructions of the spine and pelvis reported 18 parameters in the coronal, sagittal, and axial plane.

Predicting Acute Postoperative Pain Trajectories and Long-Term Outcomes of Adolescents after Spinal Fusion Surgery.

Objectives: Acute pain trajectories are associated with long-term outcomes such as persistent pain and functional disability in adults. However, there are limited data on acute postoperative pain trajectories in the pediatric population. The aims of this study were to investigate acute postoperative pain trajectories, their predictors, and their impact on long- term outcomes in adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis.

The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia: Structural Validation among Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis Undergoing Spinal Fusion Surgery.

Aims: Spinal fusion surgery is one of the most invasive orthopedic surgeries. Pain while moving or a fear of experiencing pain after surgery may delay return to function and cause prolonged disability. The purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) in pediatric patients undergoing scoliosis surgery.

Assessing publication rate of abstracts presented in spine conferences as a quality benchmark: the example of the Canadian Spine Society Annual Meetings.

Introduction: Publication rate can indirectly assess the quality of research presented in scientific meetings. Considering presentations at orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery meetings, 10.5-66% of abstracts are published in scientific journals.