The expanding role of chronic pain interventions in multimodal perioperative pain management: a narrative review

Effects of meditation on neural responses to pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fMRI studies

This systematic review investigates the impact of meditation on neural responses to pain, as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Up to March 2024, we conducted searches across four databases for human studies implementing fMRI to assess the efficacy of meditation for pain relief. Eighteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Our systematic review indicates that activation of the insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex is positively associated with meditation for pain relief, while activity in regions like the amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex is negatively correlated with pain relief. Meta-analyses consistently reveal the involvement of various brain regions, including the insula, putamen, amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, superior temporal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and caudate nucleus, in meditation-induced alleviation of pain. These findings suggest ccthat meditation acts on specific brain regions related to pain, mood, and cognition, providing insight into the potential mechanisms underlying the pain-alleviating effects of meditation on both pain sensations and emotional experiences.

Current Approaches to Four Challenging Pain Syndromes

During a conference of pain specialists, some of the experts addressed the potential management of four prevalent but difficult painful conditions, namely, chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP), knee osteoarthritis, chest trauma, and facet joint arthropathy. In all cases, the conditions posed challenges in accurate diagnoses as well as safe, effective treatments, especially using locoregional blocks. It is not clear why some surgical patients develop CPSP and others do not, although some risk factors have been identified. More importantly, the transitional phase of pain from acute to chronic deserves greater scrutiny. It appears as if more aggressive and more effective perioperative and postoperative analgesia could help mitigate or possibly prevent CPSP. Knee osteoarthritis is prevalent but is often managed pharmacologically and then with joint replacement; many patients simply live with the condition which can be viewed as a disease of the entire joint. New approaches with intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid, platelet-rich plasma, and botulinum toxin may provide safe, effective, and durable pain control. Chest trauma can be extremely painful and a source of morbidity, but its management tends to rely on watchful waiting and drug therapy. New approaches to regional nerve blocks can be beneficial and may reduce troublesome symptoms such as the inability to cough or clear the lungs. Facet joint arthropathy is very prevalent among older people but is not completely clarified. It may be the source of intense pain with limited management strategies. The role of nerve blocks in facet joint arthropathy is an important new addition to the armamentarium of pain management, particularly for geriatric patients.

Feasibility of a multidisciplinary Transitional Pain Service in spine surgery patients to minimise opioid use and improve perioperative outcomes: a quality improvement study

INTRODUCTION

Spine surgery patients have high rates of perioperative opioid consumption, with a chronic opioid use prevalence of 20%. A proposed solution is the implementation of a Transitional Pain Service (TPS), which provides patient-tailored multidisciplinary care. Its feasibility has not been demonstrated in spine surgery. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a TPS programme in patients undergoing spine surgery.

METHODS

Patients were recruited between July 2020 and November 2021 at a single, tertiary care academic centre. Success of our study was defined as: (1) enrolment: ability to enrol ≥80% of eligible patients, (2) data collection: ability to collect data for ≥80% of participants, including effectiveness measures (oral morphine equivalent (OME) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)-perceived analgesic management and overall health) and programme resource requirements measures (appointment attendance, 60-day return to emergency and length of stay), and (3) efficacy: estimate potential programme effectiveness defined as ≥80% of patients weaned back to their intake OME requirements at programme discharge.

RESULTS

Thirty out of 36 (83.3%) eligible patients were enrolled and 26 completed the TPS programme. The main programme outcomes and resource measures were successfully tracked for >80% of patients. All 26 patients had the same or lower OME at programme discharge than at intake (intake 38.75 mg vs discharge 12.50 mg; p<0.001). At TPS discharge, patients reported similar overall health VAS (pre 60.0 vs post 70.0; p=0.14), improved scores for VAS-perceived analgesic management (pre 47.6 vs post 75.6; p<0.001) and improved Brief Pain Inventory pain intensity (pre 39.1 vs post 25.0; p=0.02).

CONCLUSION

Our feasibility study successfully met or exceeded our three main objectives. Based on this success and the defined clinical need for a TPS programme, we plan to expand our TPS care model to include other surgical procedures at our centre.

Life After Total Hip Replacement: A Qualitative Study on Patient Experiences

The present study aimed to determine the life experiences of patients undergoing total hip replacement. This study was a qualitative study conducted using the content analysis method. Using purposive sampling, 10 patients with total hip replacement were selected and interviewed. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and were analyzed using the content analysis method. The mean age of the 10 patients was 59.33 ± 9.9 years. Six patients were female and four were male. Of these 10 participants, eight were married and had nuclear families; all participants were literate, and seven belonged to the middle-income group. Four main themes and 10 subthemes were identified. The themes included a painful process (severe pain and feeling of pain due to emotional exhaustion), fear (fear of feeling pain, fear of moving, and fear of recurrence), difficulty (self-care, sleep, and participation in social life), and positive thinking about life (feeling good and hope). The participants expressed mostly negative life experiences while also pointing out the positive life experiences. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the views of patients with total hip replacement on life experiences. These results can be used in planning and implementing health services for patients with total hip replacement.