Causes and Consequences of Inadequate Management of Acute Pain

Sex bias in pain management decisions

In the pursuit of mental and physical health, effective pain management stands as a cornerstone. Here, we examine a potential sex bias in pain management. Leveraging insights from psychological research showing that females' pain is stereotypically judged as less intense than males' pain, we hypothesize that there may be tangible differences in pain management decisions based on patients' sex. Our investigation spans emergency department (ED) datasets from two countries, including discharge notes of patients arriving with pain complaints (N = 21,851). Across these datasets, a consistent sex disparity emerges. Female patients are less likely to be prescribed pain-relief medications compared to males, and this disparity persists even after adjusting for patients' reported pain scores and numerous patient, physician, and ED variables. This disparity extends across medical practitioners, with both male and female physicians prescribing less pain-relief medications to females than to males. Additional analyses reveal that female patients' pain scores are 10% less likely to be recorded by nurses, and female patients spend an additional 30 min in the ED compared to male patients. A controlled experiment employing clinical vignettes reinforces our hypothesis, showing that nurses (N = 109) judge pain of female patients to be less intense than that of males. We argue that the findings reflect an undertreatment of female patients' pain. We discuss the troubling societal and medical implications of females' pain being overlooked and call for policy interventions to ensure equal pain treatment.

Additive antinociceptive action of intrathecal anandamide reuptake inhibitor and morphine in the management of post-incisional pain in rats

Spinal opioids have mixed efficacy and their adverse effects force treatment cessation of postoperative pain. Consequently, there is an ongoing search for new therapeutic strategies. Here, we evaluated the analgesic efficacy of intrathecal UCM707, an anandamide reuptake inhibitor, and morphine combination. Firstly, we assessed the effects of morphine (1, 5 and 10 μg), UCM707 (75 μg) and its combination in the hot plate. Then, morphine + UCM707 at sub-effective doses was evaluated in a rat post-incisional pain model. In addition, μ-, CB1r-, CB2r- and TRPV1-antagonists were pre-administered before the combination. Activation of μ-opioid and CB1r, and Cnr1, Cnr2, Oprm1 and TRPV1 expressions were evaluated in the lumbar sacra and periaqueductal grey by [35 S]-GTPγS binding autoradiography and qPCR studies. In the hot plate, morphine (1 μg) and UCM707 (75 μg) induced a more robust analgesic effect than each drug alone. Morphine plus UCM707 did not modify μ-opioid nor CB1 receptor function in the PAG or LS. Cnr1 and TRPV1 expression increased in the lumbar sacra (LS). Morphine plus UCM707 significantly reduced post-incisional pain at 1 and 4 days after surgery. Cnr1, Cnr2 and TRPV1 expressions increased in the LS. Blockade of μ-opioid receptor reduced combination effects on days 1 and 4. CB1r- and CB2r-antagonism reduced morphine + UCM707 effects on days 1 and 4, respectively. CB1r and TRPV1-antagonism improved their antinociceptive effects on day 4. These results revealed a synergistic/additive analgesic effect of UCM707 and morphine combination controlling postincisional pain. CB1r, CB2r and TRPV1 contribute differently as central sensitization occurs.

Effect of Alternatives to Opiates Program on Discharge Opioid Prescribing in Trauma Patients

Background: Opioid overdose deaths have increased over the last two decades, despite efforts to reduce prescribing. This study aimed to determine if a hospital-wide Alternatives to Opiates (ALTOSM) program reduced opioid prescribing in hospital and upon discharge after trauma. Objectives: The primary outcome was incidence of opioid prescribing at hospital discharge Pre- and Post-ALTO. Secondary outcomes were the percent of patients with in-hospital opioid, non-opioid and multimodal analgesia, and hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS). Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective analysis of patients >/ = 18 years old admitted for >24 hours with the primary diagnosis of traumatic injury between August 2018 - October 2019. Patients with alcohol or polysubstance abuse, chronic opioid use, or in-hospital mortality were excluded. Results: A total of 703 patients were included, 471 in Pre-ALTO and 232 in Post-ALTO groups. The mean age was 59 ± 22 years and most were male (58.7%). Mean initial Injury Severity Score (ISS) was 9.1 ± 7.7. Opioid prescribing at hospital discharge occurred more in the Post-ALTO group (132/332, 39.4% vs 90/203, 43.8%; P = .1237). Most patients were prescribed in-hospital opioid (332/471, 70.4% vs 203/232, 87.5%, P < .0001) and non-opioid (441/471, 93.6% vs 229/232, 98.7%; P = .0027) analgesics, or multimodal analgesia (397/471, 84.3% vs 203/232, 87.5%; P = .2591). Median hospital and ICU LOS were also similar between groups [5 (3-9) vs 4(3-7), P = .3427] and ICU [2(0-4) vs 3(2-5), P = .3461]. Conclusion: Opioids remain mainstay for trauma-related pain treatment. ALTOSM was not associated with less in-hospital or discharge opioid prescribing.

Interactive and passive mixed reality distraction: effects on cold pressor pain in adults

While interactive distractors are predicted to be more effective in reducing acute pain than passive distractors, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Previous work using Virtual-Reality (VR) has suggested that interactive distraction may be enhanced by increasing the person's sense of immersion. Despite the possible utility of immersive VR in reducing pain, some people report being disoriented and motion sick, and it doesn't allow for interactions with environment (e.g., following instructions from medical staff). Here, we explore the role of the immersion in the effectiveness of interactive distraction by employing an alternative technology, a Mixed-Reality (MR) headset that limits disorientation by projecting virtual objects into the real world. Healthy volunteers (18-35 years) participated in two experiments employing either a between (N = 84) or a within-subject (N = 42) design to compare Interactive and Passive distraction tasks presented via MR or a standard computer display. For both experiments, a cold-pressor task was used to elicit pain, with pain tolerance and pain perception being recorded. Analysis revealed that whilst interactive distraction was more effective in reducing pain perception and increasing pain tolerance than passive distraction, the interpretation of results was sensitive to experimental design. Comparison of devices did not reveal significant differences in pain tolerance or pain intensity, while pain unpleasantness was significantly reduced during the MR task using a within-subject design. Our findings add to existing VR studies reporting little additional analgesic benefit of new, immersive technologies compared to traditional computers, but underscores the important impact the choice of experimental design can have on the interpretation of results.

Limitations of Patient-Controlled Epidural Analgesia Following Abdominoplasty

BACKGROUND

Effective postoperative pain management is essential for patient satisfaction and an uneventful postoperative course, particularly in body contouring procedures. Systemic analgesic regimens can be supported by regional procedures, such as the transverse abdominis plane (TAP) block, but these have a limited duration of action. In contrast, thoracic epidural analgesia offers the possibility of a longer-lasting, individualized regional anesthesia administered by a patient-controlled analgesia pump.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a patient-controlled epidural analgesia to better classify the clinical value of this procedure in abdominoplasties.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This work reviewed the digital medical charts of patients who underwent selective abdominoplasty without combined surgical procedures between September 2018 and August 2022. Evaluated data comprise the postoperative analgesia regimen, including on-demand medication, mobilization time, inpatient length of stay, and clinical outcome. The patients were grouped by the presence of a thoracic epidural catheter. This catheter was placed before anesthetic induction and a saturation dose was preoperatively applied. Postoperative PCEA patients received a basal rate and could independently administer boluses. Basal rate was individually adjusted during daily additional pain visits.

RESULTS

The study cohort included 112 patients. Significant differences in the demand for supportive nonepidural opiate medication were shown between the patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) group (n = 57) and the non-PCEA group (n = 55), depending on the time after surgery. PCEA patients demanded less medication during the early postoperative days (POD 0: PCEA 0.13 (±0.99) mg vs non-PCEA 2.59 (±4.55) mg, P = 0.001; POD 1: PCEA 0.79 mg (±3.06) vs non-PCEA 2.73 (±3.98) mg, P = 0.005), but they required more during the later postoperative phase (POD 3: PCEA 2.76 (±5.60) mg vs non-PCEA 0.61 (±2.01) mg, P = 0.008; POD 4: PCEA 1.64 (±3.82) mg vs non-PCEA 0.07 (±2.01) mg, P = 0.003). In addition, PCEA patients achieved full mobilization later (PCEA 2.67 (±0.82) days vs non-PCEA 1.78 (±1.09) days, P = 0.001) and were discharged later (PCEA 4.84 (±1.23) days vs non-PCEA 4.31 (±1.37) days, P = 0.005).

CONCLUSION

Because the postoperative benefits of PCEA are limited to potent analgesia immediately after abdominoplasty, less cumbersome, time-limited regional anesthesia procedures (such as TAP block) appear not only adequate but also more effective.

A smart device application for acute pain service in surgical patients at a tertiary hospital in South Korea: a prospective observational feasibility study

BACKGROUND

Pain assessment and patient education are essential for successful postoperative pain management. However, the provision of personnel for performing these tasks is often insufficient. Recently, attempts have been made to implement smartphone applications for educating and monitoring surgical patients. We developed a smartphone application (app) for postoperative pain management, and conducted a feasibility study.

METHODS

This single-center prospective observational study included 60 patients aged < 70 years who underwent elective surgery. This study evaluated the SmartAPS application, which offers tools for postoperative pain assessment and educational materials for pain management. The primary outcome was the active usage rate, defined as responding at least twice daily on postoperative days (PODs) 1 and 2. Additionally, we investigated patient satisfaction with the app and educational videos as well as any challenges encountered during use.

RESULTS

Sixty patients were enrolled in the study and active app use was achieved in 56.7% of them. Response rates peaked at 85.0% for pain intensity and 83.3% for opioid-related side effects at 14:00 on POD 1 but dropped to 56.7% and 58.3%, respectively, at 18:00 on POD 2. Among the patients who responded to the survey regarding the app usage, 84.0% reported satisfaction with the app and 80% found it beneficial for managing postoperative pain. Furthermore, 92.0% did not encounter difficulties using the app, indicating a generally positive user experience.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings support the utility of the SmartAPS application in acute pain services, highlighting its potential for improving postoperative pain management.

Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of 60-Day Percutaneous Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Treatment Indicates Relief of Persistent Postoperative Pain, and Improved Function After Knee Replacement

OBJECTIVES

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is an effective surgery for end-stage knee osteoarthritis, but chronic postoperative pain and reduced function affect up to 20% of patients who undergo such surgery. There are limited treatment options, but percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is a promising nonopioid treatment option for chronic, persistent postoperative pain. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a 60-day percutaneous PNS treatment in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for treating persistent postoperative pain after TKA.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients with postoperative pain after knee replacement were screened for this postmarket, institutional review board-approved, prospectively registered (NCT04341948) trial. Subjects were randomized to receive either active PNS or placebo (sham) stimulation. Subjects and a designated evaluator were blinded to group assignments. Subjects in both groups underwent ultrasound-guided placement of percutaneous fine-wire coiled leads targeting the femoral and sciatic nerves on the leg with postoperative pain. Leads were indwelling for eight weeks, and the primary efficacy outcome compared the proportion of subjects in each group reporting ≥50% reduction in average pain relative to baseline during weeks five to eight. Functional outcomes (6-minute walk test; 6MWT and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index) and quality of life (Patient Global Impression of Change) also were evaluated at end of treatment (EOT).

RESULTS

A greater proportion of subjects in the PNS groups (60%; 12/20) than in the placebo (sham) group (24%; 5/21) responded with ≥50% pain relief relative to baseline (p = 0.028) during the primary endpoint (weeks 5-8). Subjects in the PNS group also walked a significantly greater distance at EOT than did those in the placebo (sham) group (6MWT; +47% vs -9% change from baseline; p = 0.048, n = 18 vs n = 20 completed the test, respectively). Prospective follow-up to 12 months is ongoing.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides evidence that percutaneous PNS decreases persistent pain, which leads to improved functional outcomes after TKA at EOT.

The impact of combined administration of ropivacaine and dexamethasone on postoperative analgesia in perianal surgery with pudendal nerve block under ultrasound guidance: a prospective randomized controlled study

Background

In recent years, severe pain after perianal surgery has seriously affected the prognosis of hospitalized patients. How to maximize the improvement of postoperative pain and perioperative comfort becomes particularly important.

Methods

This study was a double-blind randomized controlled trial (Registration No.: ChiCTR2100048760, Registration Date: 16 July 2021, Link: www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=130226), and patients were randomly divided into two groups: one group underwent postoperative 20 mL bilateral pudendal nerve block with 0.5% ropivacaine (P group), and the other group underwent postoperative 20 mL bilateral pudendal nerve block with 0.5% ropivacaine + 8 mg dexamethasone (PD group). The primary outcome was the incidence of moderate to severe pain at the first postoperative dressing change. Secondary outcomes included Quality of recovery-15 (QoR-15) score at 3 days after surgery, sleep quality, pain score at 3 days after surgery, and incidence of adverse events.

Results

In the main outcome indicators, the incidence was 41.7% in the P group and 24.2% in the PD group (p = 0.01). The QoR-15 score and sleep quality in PD group were better than those in P group 2 days before surgery. The incidence of postoperative urinary retention was significantly decreased in PD group (p = 0.01).

Conclusion

Local anesthesia with dexamethasone combined with pudendal nerve block after perianal surgery can reduce the incidence of moderate to severe pain during the first dressing change. This may be one of the approaches to multimodal analgesia after perianal surgery.

Clinical Trial Registration

https://www.chictr.org.cn/, identifier ChiCTR2100048760.

Educational needs and preferences of adult patients with acute pain: a mixed-methods systematic review

ABSTRACT

Many patients experience acute pain, which has been associated with numerous negative consequences. Pain education has been proposed as a strategy to improve acute pain management. However, studies report limited effects with educational interventions for acute pain in adults, which can be explained by the underuse of the person-centered approach. Thus, we aimed to systematically review and synthetize current evidence from quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods studies describing patients' needs and preferences for acute pain education in adults. We searched original studies and gray literature in 7 databases, from January 1990 to October 2023. Methodological quality was assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. A total of 32 studies were included (n = 1847 patients), two-thirds of which were qualitative studies of high methodological quality. Most of the studies were conducted over the last 15 years in patients with postsurgical and posttraumatic pain, identified as White, with a low level of education. Patients expressed the greatest need for education when it came to what to expect in pain intensity and duration, as well how to take the medication and its associated adverse effects. The most frequently reported educational preferences were for in-person education while involving caregivers and to obtain information first from physicians, then by other professionals. This review has highlighted the needs and preferences to be considered in pain education interventions, which should be embedded in an approach cultivating communication and partnership with patients and their caregivers. The results still need to be confirmed with different patient populations.

Improving door-to-analgesia timing in musculoskeletal injuries in an academic emergency department in India: a quality improvement project

INTRODUCTION

Pain, more frequently due to musculoskeletal injuries, is a prevalent concern in emergency departments (EDs). Timely analgesic administration is paramount in the acute setting of ED. Despite its importance, many EDs face challenges in pain management and present opportunities for improvement. This initiative aimed to expedite the administration of the first analgesic in patients with musculoskeletal pain in the ED.

LOCAL PROBLEM

Observations within our ED revealed that patients with musculoskeletal injuries triaged to yellow or green areas experienced prolonged waiting times, leading to delayed analgesic administration, thereby adversely affecting clinical care and patient satisfaction.

SPECIFIC AIM

The aim of our quality improvement (QI) project was to reduce the time to administration of first analgesia by 30% from baseline, in patients with musculoskeletal injuries presenting to our academic ED, in a period of 8 weeks after the baseline phase.

METHODS

A multidisciplinary QI team systematically applied Point-of-Care Quality Improvement and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle methodologies. Process mapping and fishbone analyses identified the challenges in analgesia administration. Targeted interventions were iteratively refined through PDSA cycles.

INTERVENTIONS

Interventions such as pain score documentation at triage, fast-tracking of patients with moderate-to-severe pain, resident awareness sessions, a pain management protocol and prescription audits were executed during the PDSA cycles. Successful elements were reinforced and adjustments were made to address the identified challenges.

RESULTS

The median door-to-analgesia timing during the baseline phase was 55.5 min (IQR, 25.75-108 min). During the postintervention phase, the median was significantly reduced to 15 min (IQR, 5-37 min), exceeding the anticipated outcomes and indicating a substantial 73% reduction (p value <0.001) from baseline.

CONCLUSION

Implementing simple change ideas resulted in a substantial improvement in door-to-analgesia timing within the ED. These findings significantly contribute to ongoing discussions on the optimisation of pain management in emergency care.

Pain Prevalence and Treatment in Hospitalized Children and Adolescents at a US Tertiary Pediatric Hospital

Poorly controlled acute pain is associated with worsened patient outcomes. Prior studies suggest that acute pain is a common complaint among hospitalized pediatric patients, but recent studies with substantial numbers of patients from US hospitals are lacking. We retrospectively reviewed inpatients at a single academic children's hospital during twelve 24-hour periods in 2021. Outcomes were assessed for patients on non-intensive care unit (ICU) inpatient floors and in ICUs. The primary outcome was any presence of moderate to severe pain. Of 1355 patients on a non-ICU inpatient floor and 485 patients in the ICU, 23.5% and 58.6%, respectively, had ≥1 moderate to severe pain score during the 24-hour analysis period. While the mean pain score was low for the majority of patients, moderate to severe pain is frequent in hospitalized children. Future studies may focus on identification of variables associated with pediatric inpatients at risk of moderate to severe pain as well as improved pain prevention and reduction strategies.

The effect of local injection of bupivacaine with and without fentanyl at the operative site in mandibular open reduction on acute pain intensity and opioid requirement: a randomized clinical trial

PURPOSE

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of bupivacaine local injection with and without fentanyl at the operative site in mandibular open reduction surgeries on the severity of acute pain and the need for opioids.

METHODS

This randomized clinical trial, age-sex-matched double-blind study included 44 patients with isolated mandibular fractures who would be candidates for open reduction. They were divided into two groups (intervention using fentanyl and control not using fentanyl). In both groups, the amount of opioid used, hemodynamic indices, oxygen saturation, and pain intensity were collected based on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) every 4 h for 24 h.

RESULTS

As for basic and demographic variables such as gender, age, ASA class, and duration of surgery (P > 0.05), there was neither a significant difference between the two groups nor was there any difference in nausea and vomiting and subsequent anti-nausea medication (P > 0.05). The need for a post-operative opioid in the bupivacaine + fentanyl group (13.6%) was significantly less than in those who received only bupivacaine (45.5%) (P < 0.05). Changes in pain scores over time were significantly different in the two groups, and bupivacaine + fentanyl reduced pain more than bupivacaine (P < 0.05). However, over time, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of changes in oxygen saturation, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The addition of fentanyl to bupivacaine for supraperiosteal injection in the open reduction surgery site reduces post-operative pain in the first 24 h and reduces the need for opioids without causing complications such as nausea and vomiting.

Painkiller intake and problematic health literacy in sport and music students - A cross-sectional study

Previous works have suggested a high prevalence of painkiller intake (PI) among sport students but also improved health literacy (HL) for sports-active students than for sports-inactive students. Since health-related content also forms part of the sport science curriculum, the study focuses on these seemingly paradoxical results. Music students who are also physically active through their instrumental practice, who act in an area with increased PI and who have no health-related teaching content in their curriculum composed the comparison group. Therefore, this study investigated the prevalence of PI and HL in cohorts of sport (n = 222; 54.5% female) and music students (n = 89; 67.4% female) using a cross-sectional online survey in Lower Saxony, Germany. The hypothesis tests were validated by calculating frequentist and Bayesian statistics. The results show that 50.9% of sport and 28.1% of music students exhibit PI concerning their study programs, often for prophylactical purposes and in the presence of low HL levels. The weak negative correlation between PI and HL was not statistically confirmed and requires further research with improved test power. Regarding the possible health consequences of an inconsiderate PI, target group-specific prevention is indicated to increase general health awareness and HL.

Towards Multitargeted Ligands as Pain Therapeutics: Dual Ligands of the Cavα2δ-1 Subunit of Voltage-Gated Calcium Channel and the μ-Opioid Receptor

The synthesis and pharmacological activity of a new series of dual ligands combining activities towards the α2δ-1 subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels (Cavα2δ-1) and the μ-opioid receptor (MOR) as novel pain therapeutics are reported. A careful exploration of the pharmacophores related to both targets, which in principle had few common characteristics, led to the design of novel compounds exhibiting both activities. The construction of the dual ligands started from published Cavα2δ-1 ligands, onto which MOR ligand pharmacophoric elements were added. This exercise led to new amino-acidic substances with good affinities on both targets as well as good metabolic and physicochemical profiles and low potential for drug-drug interactions. A representative compound, (2S,4S)-4-(4-chloro-3-(((cis)-4-(dimethylamino)-4-phenylcyclohexyl)methyl)-5-fluorophenoxy)pyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid, displayed promising analgesic activities in several in vivo pain models as well as a reduced side-effect profile in relation to morphine.

Implication of system xc- in neuroinflammation during the onset and maintenance of neuropathic pain

BACKGROUND

Despite the high prevalence of neuropathic pain, treating this neurological disease remains challenging, given the limited efficacy and numerous side effects associated with current therapies. The complexity in patient management is largely attributed to an incomplete understanding of the underlying pathological mechanisms. Central sensitization, that refers to the adaptation of the central nervous system to persistent inflammation and heightened excitatory transmission within pain pathways, stands as a significant contributor to persistent pain. Considering the role of the cystine/glutamate exchanger (also designated as system xc-) in modulating glutamate transmission and in supporting neuroinflammatory responses, we investigated the contribution of this exchanger in the development of neuropathic pain.

METHODS

We examined the implication of system xc- by evaluating changes in the expression/activity of this exchanger in the dorsal spinal cord of mice after unilateral partial sciatic nerve ligation. In this surgical model of neuropathic pain, we also examined the consequence of the genetic suppression of system xc- (using mice lacking the system xc- specific subunit xCT) or its pharmacological manipulation (using the pharmacological inhibitor sulfasalazine) on the pain-associated behavioral responses. Finally, we assessed the glial activation and the inflammatory response in the spinal cord by measuring mRNA and protein levels of GFAP and selected M1 and M2 microglial markers.

RESULTS

The sciatic nerve lesion was found to upregulate system xc- at the spinal level. The genetic deletion of xCT attenuated both the amplitude and the duration of the pain sensitization after nerve surgery, as evidenced by reduced responses to mechanical and thermal stimuli, and this was accompanied by reduced glial activation. Consistently, pharmacological inhibition of system xc- had an analgesic effect in lesioned mice.

CONCLUSION

Together, these observations provide evidence for a role of system xc- in the biochemical processes underlying central sensitization. We propose that the reduced hypersensitivity observed in the transgenic mice lacking xCT or in sulfasalazine-treated mice is mediated by a reduced gliosis in the lumbar spinal cord and/or a shift in microglial M1/M2 polarization towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype in the absence of system xc-. These findings suggest that drugs targeting system xc- could contribute to prevent or reduce neuropathic pain.

Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Perioperative Pain Management and Opioid Risk Reduction Following Surgery: A Stepped Care Approach

Surgical procedures often improve health and function but can sometimes also result in iatrogenic effects, including chronic pain and opioid misuse. Due to the known risks of opioids and the physical, emotional, and financial suffering that often accompanies chronic pain, there has been a call for greater use of complementary non-pharmacological treatments like mindfulness-based interventions. Mindfulness can be broadly described as an attentional state involving moment-by-moment meta-awareness of thoughts, emotions, and body sensations. An expanding number of randomized clinical trials have found strong evidence for the value of mindfulness techniques in alleviating clinical symptomology relevant to surgical contexts. The purpose of this review is to examine the empirical evidence for the perioperative use of mindfulness interventions. We present a mindfulness-based stepped care approach that first involves brief mindfulness to treat preoperative pain and anxiety and prevent development of postoperative chronic pain or opioid misuse. More extensive mindfulness-based interventions are then provided to patients who continue to experience high pain levels or prolonged opioid use after surgery. Finally, we review psychophysiological mechanisms of action that may be integral to the analgesic and opioid sparing effects of mindfulness.

Outcomes of Pain Management Among Postoperative Patients: A Cross-sectional Study

PURPOSE

Postoperative pain management has always been a significant challenge for both hospital staff and surgical patients. Determination of pain management outcomes among surgically treated patients may help develop pain management strategies, improve health services that would yield better outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction. This study aimed to assess the outcomes of pain management among postoperative patients.

DESIGN

The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

METHODS

The research was performed on postoperative patients at two university hospitals in North Cyprus from July to September 2019. The study sample consisted of 90 patients from both hospitals. The Turkish Version of the revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R-TR) was used for data collection. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist was used to report the present study.

FINDINGS

This study showed that the overall mean for pain severity and the worst pain experienced by patients after 24 hours was slightly higher than medium. Examination of interference of the pain with functions demonstrated that patients experienced problems with physical activities and sleeping. The most experienced side effects were nausea and drowsiness, and the most common emotions were anxiety and helplessness during the postsurgery period. The satisfaction rate of the patients with postoperative pain management was relatively high.

CONCLUSIONS

A holistic approach with evidence-based practices is crucial for adequate postoperative pain management. The recommendations include the development of individual pain outcome strategies to improve overall satisfaction with pain management among postoperative patients.

Pecto-intercostal Fascial Plane Block: A Novel Technique for Analgesia in Patients with Sternal Dehiscence

ABSTRACT

Sternal wound complications following sternotomy need a multidisciplinary approach in high-risk postoperative cardiac surgical patients. Poorly controlled pain during surgical management of such wounds increases cardiovascular stress and respiratory complications. Multimodal analgesia including intravenous opioids, non-opioid analgesics, and regional anesthesia techniques, like central neuraxial blocks and fascial plane blocks, have been described. Pecto-intercostal fascial plane block (PIFB), a novel technique, has been effectively used in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Under ultrasound (US) guidance PIFB is performed with the aim of depositing local anesthetic between two superficial muscles, namely the pectoralis major muscle and the external intercostal muscle. The authors report a series of five cases where US-guided bilateral PIFB was used in patients undergoing sternal wound debridement. Patients had excellent analgesia intraoperatively as well as postoperatively for 24 hours with minimal requirement of supplemental analgesia. None of the patients experienced complications due to PIFB administration. The authors concluded that bilateral PIFB can be effectively used as an adjunct to multimodal analgesia with general anesthesia and as a sole anesthesia technique in selected cases of sternal wound debridement.

Ultrasound-guided nerve blocks in emergency medicine practice: 2022 updates

OBJECTIVES

In the Emergency Department (ED), ultrasound-guided nerve blocks (UGNBs) have become a cornerstone of multimodal pain regimens. We investigated current national practices of UGNBs across academic medical center EDs, and how these trends have changed over time.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional electronic survey of academic EDs with ultrasound fellowships across the United States. Twenty-item questionnaires exploring UGNB practice patterns, training, and complications were distributed between November 2021-June 2022. Data was manually curated, and descriptive statistics were performed. The survey results were then compared to results from Amini et al. 2016 UGNB survey to identify trends.

RESULTS

The response rate was 80.5% (87 of 108 programs). One hundred percent of responding programs perform UGNB at their institutions, with 29% (95% confidence interval (CI), 20%-39%) performing at least 5 blocks monthly. Forearm UGNB are most commonly performed (96% of programs (95% CI, 93%-100%)). Pain control for fractures is the most common indication (84%; 95% CI, 76%-91%). Eighty-five percent (95% CI, 77%-92%) of programs report at least 80% of UGNB performed are effective. Eighty-five percent (95% CI, 66%-85%) of programs have had no reported complications from UGNB performed by emergency providers at their institution. The remaining 15% (95% CI, 8%-23%) report an average of 1 complication annually.

CONCLUSIONS

All programs participating in our study report performing UGNB in their ED, which is a 16% increase over the last 5 years. UGNB's are currently performed safely and effectively in the ED, however practice improvements can still be made. Creating multi-disciplinary committees at local and national levels can standardize guidelines and practice policies to optimize patient safety and outcomes.

Multimodal automatic assessment of acute pain through facial videos and heart rate signals utilizing transformer-based architectures

Accurate and objective pain evaluation is crucial in developing effective pain management protocols, aiming to alleviate distress and prevent patients from experiencing decreased functionality. A multimodal automatic assessment framework for acute pain utilizing video and heart rate signals is introduced in this study. The proposed framework comprises four pivotal modules: the Spatial Module, responsible for extracting embeddings from videos; the Heart Rate Encoder, tasked with mapping heart rate signals into a higher dimensional space; the AugmNet, designed to create learning-based augmentations in the latent space; and the Temporal Module, which utilizes the extracted video and heart rate embeddings for the final assessment. The Spatial-Module undergoes pre-training on a two-stage strategy: first, with a face recognition objective learning universal facial features, and second, with an emotion recognition objective in a multitask learning approach, enabling the extraction of high-quality embeddings for the automatic pain assessment. Experiments with the facial videos and heart rate extracted from electrocardiograms of the BioVid database, along with a direct comparison to 29 studies, demonstrate state-of-the-art performances in unimodal and multimodal settings, maintaining high efficiency. Within the multimodal context, 82.74% and 39.77% accuracy were achieved for the binary and multi-level pain classification task, respectively, utilizing 9.62 million parameters for the entire framework.

Acute Pain Services and pain-related patient-reported outcomes in Hungarian hospitals

BACKGROUND

Postoperative pain management is an important part of surgical care, where Acute Pain Service offers added value in terms of patient outcomes and costs. The technology, however, has hardly been adopted in Hungary, with only two hospitals operating Acute Pain Service and whose performance has not been evaluated yet. This research compared pain management outcomes of surgical, orthopedic, and traumatology patients in Hungarian hospitals with and without Acute Pain Service.

METHODS

We recruited 348 patients, 120 in the APS group and 228 in the control group, whose experience was surveyed with an adapted version of the American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire. The questionnaire covered pain intensity, pain interference with physical and emotional functions, side effects, patient satisfaction, information received, and participation in treatment decisions. The differences were analyzed by Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS

The APS group showed better results with lower pain intensity scores regarding worst postoperative pain (χ2 = 18.919, p = 0.0043). They reported less pain interference with activities in bed (χ2 = 21.978, p = 0.0006) and out of bed (χ2 = 14.341, p = 0.0129). Furthermore, patients in the APS group experienced fewer pain-management-related side effects, like nausea (χ2 = 15.240, p = 0.0101), drowsiness (χ2 = 26.965, p = 0.0001), and dizziness (χ2 = 13.980, p = 0.0124). However, patient information (χ2 = 3.480, p = 0.0945) and patient satisfaction (χ2 = 5.781, p = 0.2127) did not differ significantly between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings confirm earlier international evidence on the benefits of Acute Pain Service in postoperative pain management and support the wider adoption of the technology in Hungarian hospitals. Nevertheless, close attention should be paid to patient information and involvement as better outcomes alone do not necessarily increase patient satisfaction.

Patient-controlled analgesia morphine for the management of acute pain in the emergency department: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

The ideal pain control approach is typically viewed as titration of analgesia for pain reduction and periodic pain evaluation. However, this method takes time and is not always possible in the crowded Emergency Department. Therefore, an alternative way to improve pain care in the Emergency Department is needed to avoid this unpleasant sensation in the patients. The best solution to tackle this situation is using Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA), in the form of a PCA pump.

STUDY OBJECTIVES

This systematic review and meta-analysis was designated to evaluate the efficacy of PCA morphine in treating acute pain at Emergency Department.

METHODS

We searched databases Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Medline, and Google Scholar up to February 2022 and identified randomized controlled trials with English language only that compare PCA morphine to IV morphine in treating patients presenting with acute pain at Emergency Department.

RESULTS

Eight trials were included in our review, comprising 1490 participants. We compared PCA morphine vs. IV morphine. There were no differences in the pain score between PCA and IV morphine (standard mean difference [SMD] = -0.20, p = 0.25). Further subgroup analyses (origin of the pain, time of assessment and the durations) showed no difference except for the dosages as the PCA morphine reduced the pain compared to IV morphine in low and high dosages but only two studies were involved. However, the analysis showed PCA morphine increased patient satisfaction and reduced the number of patients who required additional analgesia compared to IV morphine (MD 0.12, P < 0.001), (MD 0.47, P < 0.001) respectively. Data obtained in this review pertaining to adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, pruritus, and drowsiness is limited since not all the trials reported the events.

CONCLUSIONS

PCA morphine do appear to have a beneficial effect on the outcome of patient satisfaction and the number of patients who required additional analgesia. However, further studies targeting a larger sample size is required to increase the certainty of the evidence.

Co-crystal of Tramadol-Celecoxib Versus Tramadol or Placebo for Acute Moderate-to-Severe Pain After Oral Surgery: Randomized, Double-Blind, Phase 3 Trial (STARDOM1)

INTRODUCTION

Co-crystal of tramadol-celecoxib (CTC) is the first analgesic co-crystal for acute pain. This completed phase 3 multicenter, double-blind trial assessed the efficacy and safety/tolerability of CTC in comparison with that of tramadol in the setting of moderate-to-severe pain up to 72 h after elective third molar extraction requiring bone removal.

METHODS

Adults (n = 726) were assigned randomly to five groups (2:2:2:2:1): orally administered twice-daily CTC 100 mg (44 mg rac-tramadol hydrochloride/56 mg celecoxib; n = 164), 150 mg (66/84 mg; n = 160) or 200 mg (88/112 mg; n = 160); tramadol 100 mg four times daily (n = 159); or placebo four times daily (n = 83). Participants in CTC groups also received twice-daily placebo. The full analysis set included all participants who underwent randomization. The primary endpoint was the sum of pain intensity differences over 0 to 4 h (SPID0-4; visual analog scale). Key secondary endpoints included 4-h 50% responder and rescue medication use rates. Safety endpoints included adverse events (AEs), laboratory measures, and Opioid-Related Symptom Distress Scale (OR-SDS) score.

RESULTS

All CTC doses were superior to placebo (P < 0.001) for primary and key secondary endpoints. All were superior to tramadol for SPID0-4 (analysis of covariance least squares mean differences [95% confidence interval]: - 37.1 [- 56.5, - 17.6], - 40.2 [- 59.7, - 20.6], and - 41.7 [- 61.2, - 22.2] for 100, 150, and 200 mg CTC, respectively; P < 0.001) and 4-h 50% responder rate. Four-hour 50% responder rates were 32.9% (CTC 100 mg), 33.8% (CTC 150 mg), 40.6% (CTC 200 mg), 20.1% (tramadol), and 7.2% (placebo). Rescue medication use was lower in the 100-mg (P = 0.013) and 200-mg (P = 0.003) CTC groups versus tramadol group. AE incidence and OR-SDS scores were highest for tramadol alone.

CONCLUSIONS

CTC demonstrated superior pain relief compared with tramadol or placebo, as well as an improved benefit/risk profile versus tramadol.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT02982161; EudraCT number, 2016-000592-24.

Are we educating patients about postoperative analgesics following orthopaedic surgery? A scoping review

OBJECTIVES

To identify interventions educating patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery about postoperative analgesics and explore their associated outcomes.

METHODS

A scoping review using six databases was conducted. Eligible interventions were delivered to adult patients undergoing open orthopaedic procedures that could be feasibly implemented into any setting. Content, delivery methods and outcomes for interventions were described where available.

RESULTS

Eleven studies were included. Content and delivery methods differed substantially. Eight studies aimed to reduce postoperative harm by reducing opioid consumption. Studies also explored pain control (n = 6) and patient satisfaction (n = 4). Health literacy was not assessed in any study. Previous surgical or analgesic experience was infrequently reported.

CONCLUSION

This is the first scoping review assessing globally adaptable interventions designed to educate orthopaedic patients about postoperative analgesics. A paucity of interventions was found, with a limited range of patient-centred outcomes assessed. Further research is required. Co-designed educational materials with patients is recommended.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Despite the unclear benefit, clinicians should consider providing postoperative analgesic education to patients. Well-designed education has the potential to improve quality of life at low cost with low risk. Educational material adapted to local health literacy levels and prior surgical and analgesic experience is recommended to maximise engagement and impact.

Co-crystal of tramadol-celecoxib (CTC) for acute moderate-to-severe pain

OBJECTIVE

This narrative review aims to provide a clinical perspective on the potential role of co-crystal of tramadol-celecoxib (CTC) in the management of acute moderate-to-severe pain by synthesizing the available preclinical and clinical data, with emphasis on phase 3 trials.

METHODS

A non-systematic literature review was performed using a targeted PubMed search for articles published between January 1, 2000, and May 2, 2023; all publication types were permitted, and selected articles were limited to those published in English. Search results were manually reviewed to identify references based on their preclinical and clinical relevance to CTC and management of acute moderate-to-severe pain.

RESULTS

The crystalline structure of CTC alters the physicochemical properties of tramadol and celecoxib, modifying their pharmacokinetics. If taken in a free combination, tramadol reduces absorption of celecoxib. Conversely, administration of CTC slows tramadol absorption and lowers its maximum plasma concentration, while increasing celecoxib plasma concentration through its enhanced release. In clinical studies across models of acute moderate-to-severe pain, CTC demonstrated an early onset of analgesia, with improved efficacy and lower rescue medication use, compared with either agent alone. CTC's safety profile was in line with that expected for the individual components; no additive effects were observed. CTC exhibited tramadol-sparing effects, with efficacy seen at lower daily/cumulative opioid doses vs. tramadol alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Results from phase 3 trials suggest that the modified physicochemical properties of tramadol and celecoxib in CTC translate into an improved clinical benefit-risk profile, including fewer opioid-related adverse effects due to lower overall opioid dosing.

Severe pain management in the emergency department: patient pathway as a new factor associated with IV morphine prescription

Background

Across the world, 25-29% of the population suffer from pain. Pain is the most frequent reason for an emergency department (ED) visit. This symptom is involved in approximately 70% of all ED visits. The effective management of acute pain with adequate analgesia remains a challenge, especially for severe pain. Intravenous (IV) morphine protocols are currently indicated. These protocols are based on patient-reported scores, most often after an immediate evaluation of pain intensity at triage. However, they are not systematically prescribed. This aspect could be explained by the fact that physicians individualize opioid pain management for each patient and each care pathway to determine the best benefit-risk balance. Few data are available regarding bedside organizational factors involved in this phenomenon.

Objective

This study aimed to analyze the organizational factors associated with no IV morphine prescription in a standardized context of opioid management in a tertiary-care ED.

Methods

A 3-month prospective study with a case-control design was conducted in a French university hospital ED. This study focused on factors associated with protocol avoidance despite a visual analog scale (VAS) ≥60 or a numeric rating scale (NRS) ≥6 at triage. Pain components, physician characteristics, patient epidemiologic characteristics, and care pathways were considered. Qualitative variables (percentages) were compared using Fisher's exact test or the chi-squared tests. Student's t-test was used to compare continuous variables. The results were expressed as means with their standard deviation (SD). Factors associated with morphine avoidance were identified by logistic regression.

Results

A total of 204 patients were included in this study. A total of 46 cases (IV morphine) and 158 controls (IV morphine avoidance) were compared (3:1 ratio). Pain patterns and patient's epidemiologic characteristics were not associated with an IV morphine prescription. Regarding NRS intervals, the results suggest a practice disconnected from the patient's initial self-report. IV morphine avoidance was significantly associated with care pathways. A significant difference between the IV morphine group and the IV morphine avoidance group was observed for "self-referral" [adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 5.11, 95% CIs: 2.32-12.18, p < 0.0001] and patients' trajectories (Fisher's exact test; p < 0.0001), suggesting IV morphine avoidance in ambulatory pathways. In addition, "junior physician grade" was associated with IV morphine avoidance (aOR: 2.35, 95% CIs: 1.09-5.25, p = 0.03), but physician gender was not.

Conclusion

This bedside case-control study highlights that IV morphine avoidance in the ED could be associated with ambulatory pathways. It confirms the decreased choice of "NRS-only" IV morphine protocols for all patients, including non-trauma patterns. Modern pain education should propose new tools for pain evaluation that integrate the heterogeneity of ED pathways.

Effects of Gabapentin on Postoperative Pain and Opioid Consumption Following Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

PURPOSE

Examine the efficacy of gabapentin on postoperative pain scores and opioid consumption in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

METHODS

PubMed, EBSCO, CINAHL, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, and gray literature was used to search the literature. Only randomized controlled trials were included. Outcomes were reported using the risk ratio and mean difference (MD). Risk of bias and the grades of recommendation, assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) system was used to the assessed quality of evidence.

FINDINGS

Nineteen trials involving 2,068 patients were analyzed. Compared to placebo, gabapentin reduced the cumulative pain scores in the first 24 hours after surgery (MD, -1.19; 95% CI, -1.39-0.99; P < .00011), opioid consumption (MD, -3.51; 95% CI, -4.67 to -2.35; P < .00001), and the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (risk ratio, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.52-0.78; P < .00001) with prolonged time to first analgesic rescue (MD, 210.9; 95% CI, 76.90-344.91; P = .002). However, gabapentin has little to no effect on the incidence of sedation, somnolence, and respiratory depression.

CONCLUSIONS

Gabapentin can be added as part of the multimodal pain management for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Extrapolation of these findings to clinical settings must take into consideration the limitations identified in this review.

Trends in Racial Inequalities in the Administration of Opioid and Non-opioid Pain Medication in US Emergency Departments Across 1999-2020

BACKGROUND

Despite initiatives to eradicate racial inequalities in pain treatment, there is no clear picture on whether this has translated to changes in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether racial disparities in the receipt of pain medication in the emergency department have diminished over a 22-year period from 1999 to 2020.

DESIGN

We used data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, an annual, cross-sectional probability sample of visits to emergency departments of non-federal general and short-stay hospitals in the USA.

PATIENTS

Pain-related visits to the ED by Black or White patients.

MAIN MEASURES

Prescriptions for opioid and non-opioid analgesics.

KEY RESULTS

A total of 203,854 of all sampled 625,433 ED visits (35%) by Black or White patients were pain-related, translating to a population-weighted estimate of over 42 million actual visits to US emergency departments for pain annually across 1999-2020. Relative risk regression found visits by White patients were 1.26 (95% CI, 1.22-1.30; p<0.001) times more likely to result in an opioid prescription for pain compared to Black patients (40% vs. 32%). Visits by Black patients were also 1.25 (95% CI, 1.21-1.30; p<0.001) times more likely to result in non-opioid analgesics only being prescribed. Results were not substantively altered after adjusting for insurance status, type and severity of pain, geographical region, and other potential confounders. Spline regression found no evidence of meaningful change in the magnitude of racial disparities in prescribed pain medication over 22 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Initiatives to create equitable healthcare do not appear to have resulted in meaningful alleviation of racial disparities in pain treatment in the emergency department.

Measuring pain intensity through physical interaction in an experimental model of cold-induced pain: A method comparison study

OBJECTIVES

Assessment of pain is challenging given its subjective nature. Standard pain assessment tools have limitations. We aimed to compare the verbal numeric rating scale (NRS) and Grasp, a novel handheld electronic device that reports pain by squeezing.

METHODS

To compare Grasp and NRS, healthy adult volunteers were invited to undergo two subsequent standardised tests of cold-triggered pain using a cold pressor test (CPT) at a temperature of 3°C. Pain intensity was in a randomised manner reported by NRS (scale 0-10) or by squeezing Grasp (0-3 V) during the two CPTs. A third CPT was performed 1 to 14 days later where subjects reported pain by Grasp a second time in order to study the association of repeated Grasp measurements. Acceptable association was a priori considered as mean Kendall's τ-b coefficient (τ-b) ≥ 0.7. The subjects reported their experience of using Grasp in a purpose-made questionnaire.

RESULTS

In total, 102 subjects were included, and 96 subjects (56 females) completed all three tests. The association of pain intensity reported by Grasp and NRS was moderate with a mean τ-b of 0.53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47-0.58). The association between the repeated Grasp measurements was weak with a mean τ-b of 0.43 (95% CI 0.37-0.48). Most subjects reported that Grasp was intuitive and easy to use.

CONCLUSIONS

Pain intensity reported by squeezing Grasp did not show acceptable association with pain intensity reported by NRS during CPTs. The association between pain intensity reported by Grasp during two CPTs on separate days was weak. Further improvements of the Grasp ball are needed before use in clinical settings.

Analgesic Effects of Regional Analgesic Techniques in Pediatric Inguinal Surgeries: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND

Various regional analgesic techniques have been used in pediatric inguinal surgery to facilitate postoperative recovery. However, each technique's relative performance was undetermined owing to the lack of quantitative analysis.

METHODS

We systematically searched MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science for randomized controlled trials that compared regional analgesia in pediatric inguinal surgeries. After critical study screening and selection, a random-effects network meta-analysis was performed. The primary outcome was the time to the first rescue analgesic after surgery, and the secondary outcomes were the number of patients requiring rescue analgesics after surgery, postoperative pain scores, incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, and other adverse events.

RESULTS

This network meta-analysis included 69 randomized controlled trials (4636 patients) that compared 10 regional analgesic techniques. Our study revealed that the quadratus lumborum and transversus abdominis plane blocks had the longest time to the first rescue analgesic after pediatric inguinal surgeries, by 7.7 hours (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.0-10.3) and 6.0 hours (95% CI, 3.9-8.2) when compared with the control group, respectively. In the subgroup involving only inguinal hernia repair, the quadratus lumborum block significantly prolonged the time to the first rescue analgesic than all other regional analgesics. In contrast, in the subgroup involving orchidopexies, only the caudal block significantly prolonged the time to the first rescue analgesic when compared with the control group (4.1 hours; 95% CI, 0.7-7.5). Wound infiltration and landmark-based ilioinguinal-iliohypogastric block had relatively poor analgesic effects than other regional analgesics. No serious adverse effects related to the regional analgesic techniques were reported in any of the included studies.

CONCLUSIONS

The quadratus lumborum and transversus abdominis plane blocks had the longest time to the first rescue analgesic and the least rescue analgesic requirement for pediatric inguinal surgeries. Specifically, the quadratus lumborum block had the longest analgesic duration in inguinal hernia repair, and the caudal block was found to be the only regional analgesia that extended the time to the first rescue analgesic in pediatric orchidopexy. Most included randomized controlled trials had some concern or a high risk of bias, and future studies should focus on providing high-quality evidence to further clarify the analgesic effects of regional analgesia for pediatric inguinal surgeries.

A Randomized Control Study to Assess the Efficacy of Intrathecal Morphine in Patients on Patient-Controlled Analgesia Pump With Morphine for Postoperative Pain Relief After Elective Laparotomy

Introduction Laparotomy is associated with significant prolonged postoperative pain, which can cause an adverse neuroendocrine stress response. Intrathecal morphine (ITM) retains an important place in pain management after major laparotomy since it is easier to administer and has a relatively lesser possibility of failure and technical difficulty. Aim The study aims to compare the effect of the administration of ITM with intravenous (IV) morphine administered by a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump on postoperative analgesia after elective laparotomy. The primary objective was to compare total morphine consumption while secondary objectives were to compare pain assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS) and adverse reactions to opioids. Methods Sixty patients who underwent elective laparotomy were enrolled in this study. Thirty patients were enrolled in the study group (ITM+PCA) where ITM (200 mcg) was administered before laparotomy and intravenous morphine was initiated with PCA postoperatively. In the control group, only intravenous morphine was given with PCA postoperatively for pain relief. Parameters in both groups were compared, where estimation of cumulative morphine dose was the primary outcome and pain as assessed by VAS and side effects of opioids were the secondary outcomes. Results Patients in the ITM (ITM+PCA) group required less morphine (6.6 ± 2.96 vs. 24.77 ± 6.79 mg of morphine, p < 0.001) compared to patients on PCA. There was no statistically significant difference in VAS score and adverse effects between both groups. Conclusion Preoperative ITM can be used as an effective and safe modality for alleviating immediate postoperative pain following laparotomy.

Effect of regional block technique on postoperative high-grade complications according to Clavien-Dindo classification in elderly patients with thoracic and abdominal cancer: a retrospective propensity score matching analysis

Background

Postoperative complications have an influence on postoperative rehabilitation, length of hospital stay and hospitalization expenses in elderly patients, especially those with higher Clavien-Dindo (C-D) classification. Patients with cancers often experience more serious postoperative complications after surgery. Different anesthesia methods can affect the postoperative outcomes of cancer patients. Regional block techniques have been recommended in guidelines for enhanced recovery after surgery. However, the relationship between regional blocks and high-grade postoperative complications remains unclear, thus, the study explored the relationship between regional block techniques and high-grade postoperative complications graded by C-D classification in elderly patients with thoracic and abdominal cancer.

Method

Retrospective enrollment of eligible elderly patients admitted to Peking University People's Hospital between January 2018 and March 2022 was conducted. Propensity score matching (PSM) and univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to analyze the potential benefits of regional blocks for elderly patients in real world practice.

Results

A total of 2769 patients were enrolled in this study, including 568 who underwent colorectal resection, 2201 who underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic pneumonectomy. Among them, 2033 patients received regional block, while 736 patients did not. Statistical analysis indicated that regional blocks could reduce the incidence of postoperative complications of C-D classification Grade II or higher, with an Odds ratio (OR) of 0.742, 95% Confidence interval (CI) (0.552 to 0.996) (P = 0.047).

Conclusion

Regional block is associated with a reduction in the occurrence of postoperative complications graded by C-D classification in elderly patients with thoracic and abdominal cancer. The application of regional blocks can lower the risk of high-risk complications and mortality.

Randomised controlled trial of analgesia for the management of acute severe pain from traumatic injury: study protocol for the paramedic analgesia comparing ketamine and morphine in trauma (PACKMaN)

BACKGROUND

Prehospital analgesia is often required after traumatic injury, currently morphine is the strongest parenteral analgesia routinely available for use by paramedics in the United Kingdom (UK) when treating patients with severe pain. This protocol describes a multi-centre, randomised, double blinded trial comparing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of ketamine and morphine for severe pain following acute traumatic injury.

METHODS

A two arm pragmatic, phase III trial working with two large NHS ambulance services, with an internal pilot. Participants will be randomised in equal numbers to either (1) morphine or (2) ketamine by IV/IO injection. We aim to recruit 446 participants over the age of 16 years old, with a self-reported pain score of 7 or above out of 10. Randomised participants will receive a maximum of 20 mg of morphine, or a maximum of 30 mg of ketamine, to manage their pain. The primary outcome will be the sum of pain intensity difference. Secondary outcomes measure the effectiveness of pain relief and overall patient experience from randomisation to arrival at hospital as well as monitoring the adverse events, resource use and cost-effectiveness outcomes.

DISCUSSION

The PACKMAN study is the first UK clinical trial addressing the clinical and cost-effectiveness of ketamine and morphine in treating acute severe pain from traumatic injury treated by NHS paramedics. The findings will inform future clinical practice and provide insights into the effectiveness of ketamine as a prehospital analgesia.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN, ISRCTN14124474. Registered 22 October 2020, https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN14124474.

Feasibility interventional study investigating PAIN in neurorehabilitation through wearabLE SensorS (PAINLESS): a study protocol

INTRODUCTION

Millions of people survive injuries to the central or peripheral nervous system for which neurorehabilitation is required. In addition to the physical and cognitive impairments, many neurorehabilitation patients experience pain, often not widely recognised and inadequately treated. This is particularly true for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, for whom pain is one of the most common symptoms. In clinical practice, pain assessment is usually conducted based on a subjective estimate. This approach can lead to inaccurate evaluations due to the influence of numerous factors, including emotional or cognitive aspects. To date, no objective and simple to use clinical methods allow objective quantification of pain and the diagnostic differentiation between the two main types of pain (nociceptive vs neuropathic). Wearable technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to bridge this gap by continuously monitoring patients' health parameters and extracting meaningful information from them. Therefore, we propose to develop a new automatic AI-powered tool to assess pain and its characteristics during neurorehabilitation treatments using physiological signals collected by wearable sensors.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We aim to recruit 15 participants suffering from MS undergoing physiotherapy treatment. During the study, participants will wear a wristband for three consecutive days and be monitored before and after their physiotherapy sessions. Measurement of traditionally used pain assessment questionnaires and scales (ie, painDETECT, Doleur Neuropathique 4 Questions, EuroQoL-5-dimension-3-level) and physiological signals (photoplethysmography, electrodermal activity, skin temperature, accelerometer data) will be collected. Relevant parameters from physiological signals will be identified, and AI algorithms will be used to develop automatic classification methods.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The study has been approved by the local Ethical Committee (285-2022-SPER-AUSLBO). Participants are required to provide written informed consent. The results will be disseminated through contributions to international conferences and scientific journals, and they will also be included in a doctoral dissertation.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT05747040.

Race, Ethnicity, and Sustained Opioid Use After Major Abdominal Surgery for Cancer

Purpose

Sustained opioid use is a well-known complication after surgery. Our objective was to determine whether there is any association between a patient's race or ethnicity and the sustained use of opioids in the year following surgery. Opioid use over the initial 3, 6, and 12 postoperative months was categorized as "sustained early", persistent, and chronic, respectively.

Patients and Methods

Single-institution retrospective study of adults (≥18 years) who had undergone open abdominal surgery for cancer. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between race/ethnicity and opioid use.

Results

Of the 3523 patients included in the study, 2543 (72.2%) were non-Hispanic (NH) White, 476 (13.5%) were Hispanic or Latino, 262 (7.4%) were NH-Black, 186 (5.3%) were Asian, and 56 (1.6%) belonged to other racial or ethnic groups. The overall rates of sustained early, persistent, and chronic opioid use were 15.9%, 7.1%, and 2.6%, respectively. In the multivariable analysis, patient race/ethnicity was associated with sustained early postoperative opioid use (p-value=0.037), with Hispanics/Latinos having significantly higher odds than NH-Whites (OR = 1.382 [95% CI: 1.057-1.808]; p = 0.018). However, neither persistent nor chronic opioid use was associated with race/ethnicity (p = 0.697 and p = 0.443, respectively).

Conclusion

In this retrospective study of adults who had undergone open abdominal surgery, patient race/ethnicity was not consistently associated with the development of sustained opioid use over the first 12 postoperative months.

Racial disparities in pain management: Historical maleficence and solutions for equity

ABSTRACT

Medical journals from the 1800s described differences in disease susceptibility, skin thickness, and pain tolerance among races. These misconceptions about biologic differences, the historical exploitation of minorities in research, and implicit biases among healthcare workers have all affected patient care. Discrepancies still exist in pain assessment and management for minority patients compared with their White counterparts and lead to poor health outcomes. By implementing specific changes in policy and practice, including standardization, implicit bias training, and building a diverse workforce, clinicians can begin to provide care that more equitably manages pain for all patients, regardless of race.

Impact of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Combined with Bariatric Surgery Targeting Opioid Prescriptions (BSTOP) Protocol on Patient Outcomes, Length of Stay and Opioid Prescription After Bariatric Surgery

BACKGROUND

Evidence shows that 14.2% of opioid-naive patients have long-term opioid dependence after bariatric surgery. Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols are widely used in bariatric surgery, while bariatric surgery targeting opioid prescriptions (BSTOP) protocols were recently introduced. We will investigate the combined impact of ERAS and BSTOP protocols after bariatric surgery.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective review for patients who underwent either a sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at a tertiary care center. Pre-intervention and post-intervention data were compared. Primary outcomes were length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission, 30-day complications, and discharge on opioids. Multivariate Poisson regression with robust standard error was used to analyze LOS.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in 30-day emergency room visits (3.3% vs. 4.0%; p value = 0.631), 30-day readmission (4.4% vs. 5.4%; p value = 0.577) or 30-day complication rate (4.2% vs. 6.4%; p value = 0.199). LOS was significantly lower in the post-intervention group; mean (interquartile range) 2 (1-2) days vs. 1 (1-2) day, p value < 0.001. On multivariate analysis, the post-intervention group had 0.74 (95% confidence interval 0.65-0.85; p value < 0.001) times lower LOS as compared to pre-intervention group. Patients with DM had a significantly longer LOS (relative risk: 1.22; p = 0.018). No other covariates were associated with LOS (p value < 0.05 for all). BSTOP analysis found a significant difference between the two groups. Discharge on opioids decreased from 40.6% pre-intervention to 7.1% post-intervention.

CONCLUSION

ERAS and BSTOP protocols reduced length of stay and opioid need at discharge without an increase in complication or readmission rates.

Racial, Ethnic, and Language-Based Inequities in Inpatient Opioid Prescribing by Diagnosis from Internal Medicine Services, a Retrospective Cohort Study

Introduction

Opioid administration is extremely common in the inpatient setting, yet we do not know how the administration of opioids varies across different medical conditions and patient characteristics on internal medicine services. Our goal was to assess racial, ethnic, and language-based inequities in opioid prescribing practices for patients admitted to internal medicine services.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all adult patients admitted to internal medicine services from 2013 to 2021 and identified subcohorts of patients treated for the six most frequent primary hospital conditions (pneumonia, sepsis, cellulitis, gastrointestinal bleed, pyelonephritis/urinary tract infection, and respiratory disease) and three select conditions typically associated with pain (abdominal pain, acute back pain, and pancreatitis). We conducted a negative binomial regression analysis to determine how average administered daily opioids, measured as morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs), were associated with race, ethnicity, and language, while adjusting for additional patient demographics, hospitalization characteristics, medical comorbidities, prior opioid therapy, and substance use disorders.

Results

The study cohort included 61,831 patient hospitalizations. In adjusted models, we found that patients with limited English proficiency received significantly fewer opioids (66 MMEs, 95% CI: 52, 80) compared to English-speaking patients (101 MMEs, 95% CI: 91, 111). Asian (59 MMEs, 95% CI: 51, 66), Latinx (89 MMEs, 95% CI: 79, 100), and multi-race/ethnicity patients (81 MMEs, 95% CI: 65, 97) received significantly fewer opioids compared to white patients (103 MMEs, 95% CI: 94, 112). American Indian/Alaska Native (227 MMEs, 95% CI: 110, 344) patients received significantly more opioids. Significant inequities were also identified across race, ethnicity, and language groups when analyses were conducted within the subcohorts. Most notably, Asian and Latinx patients received significantly fewer MMEs and American Indian/Alaska Native patients received significantly more MMEs compared to white patients for the top six most frequent conditions. Most patients from minority groups also received fewer MMEs compared to white patients for three select pain conditions. Discussion. There are notable inequities in opioid prescribing based on patient race, ethnicity, and language status for those admitted to inpatient internal medicine services across all conditions and in the subcohorts of the six most frequent hospital conditions and three pain-associated conditions. This represents an institutional and societal opportunity for quality improvement initiatives to promote equitable pain management.

Daily Pain Prediction Using Smartphone Speech Recordings of Patients With Spine Disease

BACKGROUND

Pain evaluation remains largely subjective in neurosurgical practice, but machine learning provides the potential for objective pain assessment tools.

OBJECTIVE

To predict daily pain levels using speech recordings from personal smartphones of a cohort of patients with diagnosed neurological spine disease.

METHODS

Patients with spine disease were enrolled through a general neurosurgical clinic with approval from the institutional ethics committee. At-home pain surveys and speech recordings were administered at regular intervals through the Beiwe smartphone application. Praat audio features were extracted from the speech recordings to be used as input to a K-nearest neighbors (KNN) machine learning model. The pain scores were transformed from a 0 to 10 scale to low and high pain for better discriminative capacity.

RESULTS

A total of 60 patients were enrolled, and 384 observations were used to train and test the prediction model. Using the KNN prediction model, an accuracy of 71% with a positive predictive value of 0.71 was achieved in classifying pain intensity into high and low. The model showed 0.71 precision for high pain and 0.70 precision for low pain. Recall of high pain was 0.74, and recall of low pain was 0.67. The overall F1 score was 0.73.

CONCLUSION

Our study uses a KNN to model the relationship between speech features and pain levels collected from personal smartphones of patients with spine disease. The proposed model is a stepping stone for the development of objective pain assessment in neurosurgery clinical practice.

Functional versus dysfunctional coping with physical pain: An experimental comparison of acceptance vs. avoidance coping

This study compared acceptance vs. avoidance coping with acute physical pain, in a pain-induction experiment and examined both between and within-group differences, multi-methodically and multi-dimensionally using behavioral, physiological and self-report measures. The sample consisted of 88 University students (76.1% females; Mage = 21.33 years). Participants were randomly assigned to four instructed groups and participated twice in the Cold Pressor Task: (a) Acceptance followed by avoidance; (b) Avoidance followed by acceptance; (c) No instructions (control) followed by acceptance, and (d) No instructions (control) followed by avoidance. All analyses were conducted using repeated-measures ANOVAs. Randomized techniques analyses showed that participants receiving no instructions followed by acceptance reported significantly greater changes in physiological and behavioral measures across time. Low adherence to acceptance instructions was found, especially during the first phase. Exploratory analyses on actual techniques used (as opposed to taught technique) showed that participants using avoidance followed by acceptance exhibited significantly greater changes in physiological and behavioral measures across time. No significant differences were found for the self-report of negative affect outcome. Overall, our findings provide support to ACT theory, as participants might have to use firstly ineffective coping to understand what works best to cope with pain. This is the first study examining acceptance vs. avoidance coping both between and within individuals in physical pain, multi-methodically and multi-dimensionally.

Prediction of opioid-related outcomes in a medicaid surgical population: Evidence to guide postoperative opiate therapy and monitoring

BACKGROUND

Treatment of surgical pain is a common reason for opioid prescriptions. Being able to predict which patients are at risk for opioid abuse, dependence, and overdose (opioid-related adverse outcomes [OR-AE]) could help physicians make safer prescription decisions. We aimed to develop a machine-learning algorithm to predict the risk of OR-AE following surgery using Medicaid data with external validation across states.

METHODS

Five machine learning models were developed and validated across seven US states (90-10 data split). The model output was the risk of OR-AE 6-months following surgery. The models were evaluated using standard metrics and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used for model comparison. We assessed calibration for the top performing model and generated bootstrap estimations for standard deviations. Decision curves were generated for the top-performing model and logistic regression.

RESULTS

We evaluated 96,974 surgical patients aged 15 and 64. During the 6-month period following surgery, 10,464 (10.8%) patients had an OR-AE. Outcome rates were significantly higher for patients with depression (17.5%), diabetes (13.1%) or obesity (11.1%). The random forest model achieved the best predictive performance (AUC: 0.877; F1-score: 0.57; recall: 0.69; precision:0.48). An opioid disorder diagnosis prior to surgery was the most important feature for the model, which was well calibrated and had good discrimination.

CONCLUSIONS

A machine learning models to predict risk of OR-AE following surgery performed well in external validation. This work could be used to assist pain management following surgery for Medicaid beneficiaries and supports a precision medicine approach to opioid prescribing.

Efficacy of a continuous wound infiltration system for postoperative pain management in gynecologic patients who underwent single-port access laparoscopy for adnexal disease

Introduction

Single-port access (SPA) laparoscopy requires only one incision, unlike conventional laparoscopy. However, its umbilical incision is larger than that of conventional laparoscopy and can be vulnerable to postoperative pain. This study aimed to evaluate whether simultaneous use of a continuous wound infiltration (CWI) system and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (IV PCA) effectively decreases surgical site pain in patients who underwent SPA laparoscopy due to gynecologic adnexal disease.

Methods

A total of 371 patients who underwent SPA laparoscopy and who received IV PCA or CWI was retrospectively reviewed (combined group [CWI + IV PCA, n = 159] vs. PCA group [IV PCA only, n = 212]). To evaluate postoperative pain management, the numeric rating scale (NRS) pain score after surgery, total amount of fentanyl administered via IV PCA, and additional pain killer consumption were collected.

Results

The NRS scores at 12 h (1.90 ± 1.11 vs. 2.70 ± 1.08, p < 0.001) and 24 h (1.82 ± 0.82 vs. 2.11 ± 1.44, p = 0.026) after surgery were significantly lower in the combined group than in the PCA group. The total amount of PCA fentanyl was significantly smaller in the combined group than in the PCA group (p < 0.001). The total quantity of rescue analgesics was smaller in the combined group than in the PCA group (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

Combined use of the CWI system and IV PCA is an effective postoperative pain management strategy in patient who underwent SPA laparoscopy for adnexal disease.

Opioid Use Disorder Among the Economically Disadvantaged in the Rural South

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify county-level hotspots and associated risk factors for opioid use disorder (OUD) in the state of Alabama.

METHODS

Using 2015 to 2019 Alabama Medicaid administrative claims data, Medicaid recipients with OUD were identified. We performed local indicators of spatial association analysis to identify hotspots of OUD rates. Using logistic regression, we examined county-level social determinants of health associated with county OUD hotspots.

RESULTS

There was a +14.13% percentage change from 2015 to 2019. The county level local indicators of spatial association analysis found that 5 counties in the northwestern part of Alabama remained "hotspots" throughout the entire study period. Results of the logistic regression model showed that location within the Appalachian region was an independent predictor of high OUD rates ( b = 2.58; adjusted odds ratio, 13.27, P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

The high rates of OUD may reflect the economic distress and lack of access to resources germane to the Appalachian region in Alabama.

Expressed Beliefs about the Cause of Pain in a Pediatric Population: A Qualitative Study

(1) Background: The aims of this study are to explore what beliefs children and adolescents manifest about the cause of the pain they describe, to compare whether there are differences between beliefs by age and the persistence of pain, and to relate the explanations of the cause of pain with current scientific evidence. (2) Methods: a cross-sectional qualitative study was used. The primary endpoint of the study was obtaining explanations of the cause of pain recorded by means of an open-ended question. The participants were school-age children attending a charted school in the province of Barcelona. (3) Results: The children and adolescents proposed a diverse range of explanations for the cause of pain that they reported in their responses. The most frequent explanation for the cause of pain were pathologies and injuries (45.95%), ergonomic issues (22.60%) and psychological issues (15.95%). (4) Conclusions: There is a lot of variety in the explanations that young people give about the cause of their pain in schoolchildren aged between 10 and 16 years old. There exists a high prevalence of explanations non-associated with tissue damage (ENAD) concerning the causes of pain described. It is necessary that future health prevention programs dedicated to early ages consider which beliefs about the cause of pain are the most frequent in the pediatric population.

Are Prayer-Based Interventions Effective Pain Management Options? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

This review examined the effects of private and communal participatory prayer on pain. Nine databases were searched. Six randomized controlled trials were included. For private prayer, medium to large effects emerged for 67% to 69% of between-group comparisons; participants in the prayer condition reported lower pain intensity (0.59 < d < 26.17; 4 studies) and higher pain tolerance (0.70 < d < 1.05; 1 study). Pre- to post-intervention comparisons yielded medium to large effects (0.76 < d < 1.67; 2 studies); pain intensity decreased. Although firm conclusions cannot be made because meta-analysis was based on only two studies, the analysis suggested prayer might reduce pain intensity (SMD = - 2.63, 95% CI [- 3.11, - 2.14], I = 0%). (PROSPERO: CRD42020221733).

The Pain Management of Trauma Patients in the Emergency Department

The vast majority of injured patients suffer from pain. Systematic assessment of pain on admission to the emergency department (ED) is a cornerstone of translating the best treatment strategies for patient care into practice. Pain must be measured with severity scales that are validated in clinical practice, including for specific populations (such as children and older adults). Although primary care ED of trauma patients focuses on resuscitation, diagnosis and treatment, pain assessment and management remains a critical element as professionals are not prepared to provide effective and early therapy. To date, most EDs have pain assessment and management protocols that take into account the patient's hemodynamic status and clinical condition and give preference to non-pharmacological approaches where possible. When selecting medications, the focus is on those that are least disruptive to hemodynamic status. Pain relief may still be necessary in hemodynamically unstable patients, but caution should be exercised, especially when using opioids, as absorption may be impaired or shock may be exacerbated. The analgesic dose of ketamine is certainly an attractive option. Fentanyl is clearly superior to other opioids in initial resuscitation and treatment as it has minimal effects on hemodynamic status and does not cause central nervous system depression. Inhaled analgesia techniques and ultrasound-guided nerve blocks are also increasingly effective solutions. A multimodal pain approach, which involves the use of two or more drugs with different mechanisms of action, plays an important role in the relief of trauma pain. All EDs must have policies and promote the adoption of procedures that use multimodal strategies for effective pain management in all injured patients.

Pro-Con Debate: Peripheral Nerve Blockade Should Be Provided Routinely in Extremity Trauma, Including in Patients At Risk for Acute Compartment Syndrome

In this Pro-Con commentary article, we discuss the controversial debate of whether to provide peripheral nerve blockade (PNB) to patients at risk of acute extremity compartment syndrome (ACS). Traditionally, most practitioners adopt the conservative approach and withhold regional anesthetics for fear of masking an ACS (Con). Recent case reports and new scientific theory, however, demonstrate that modified PNB can be safe and advantageous in these patients (Pro). This article elucidates the arguments based on a better understanding of relevant pathophysiology, neural pathways, personnel and institutional limitations, and PNB adaptations in these patients.

Treatment of Acute Pain in Patients on Naltrexone: A Narrative Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The tissue damage and trauma associated with surgery almost always result in acute postoperative pain. The intensity of postoperative pain can range from mild to severe. Naltrexone is suitable for patients who do not wish to be on an agonist treatment such as methadone or buprenorphine. However, naltrexone has been shown to complicate postoperative pain management.

RECENT FINDINGS

Multiple studies have found that the use of naltrexone can increase the opioid requirement for postoperative pain control. Other modalities exist that can help outside of opioids such as ketamine, lidocaine/bupivacaine, duloxetine, and non-pharmacological management can help manage pain. Multimodal pain regiments should also be employed in patients. In addition to traditional methods for postoperative pain management, other methods of acute pain control exist that can help mitigate opioid dependence and help control pain in patients who use naltrexone for their substance use disorders.

Medicinal cannabis products for the treatment of acute pain

For thousands of years, medicinal cannabis has been used for pain treatment, but its use for pain management is still controversial. Meta-analysis of the literature has shown contrasting results on the addition of cannabinoids to opioids compared with placebo/other active agents to reduce pain. Clinical studies are mainly focused on medicinal cannabis use in chronic pain management, for which the analgesic effect has been proven in many studies. This review focuses on the potential use of medical cannabis for acute pain management in preclinical studies, studies on healthy subjects and the few pioneering studies in the clinical setting.

Persistent incisional pain at 1 year after craniotomy: a retrospective observational study

BACKGROUND

There have been few reports on persistent incisional pain at 1 year after craniotomy. Hence, this study aimed to explore the distribution of pain at 1 year after elective craniotomy and its related factors.

METHODS

This retrospective study included data prospectively collected to assess postoperative functional disability. We included patients aged > 55 years at the time of recruitment for our initial study and who had complete data regarding the pain numeric rating scale (NRS) score at 1 year post craniotomy. The primary outcome was the pain NRS score, which was assessed at the postanesthetic clinic as well as at 3 months and 1 year after craniotomy. Multivariable negative binomial regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between the pain NRS score at 1 postoperative year and 12 clinically meaningful covariates. These included the Short Form-8 scores for bodily pain and mental health, with higher scores indicating better health.

RESULTS

We analyzed data from 102 patients. The mean (95% confidence interval) pain NRS scores at the three measurement points were 2.8 (2.3-3.3), 1.2 (0.8-1.6), and 0.6 (0.3-0.8), respectively. Multivariable analysis revealed that preoperative bodily pain (risk ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-0.98) and the pain NRS score at the postanesthetic clinic (risk ratio, 1.32; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-1.52) were associated with the risk of persistent pain at 1 postoperative year.

CONCLUSIONS

The pain score at 1 year after elective craniotomy was minor; however, preoperative bodily pain and postoperative pain scores were significantly related factors.