Physiology and Treatment of Pain

Characteristics and predictors of pain among women who underwent cesarean section in Fiji

Aim: To identify the characteristics and predictors of post cesarean section (CS) pain among women.Materials & methods: This quantitative study was conducted at Labasa hospital in Fiji over a 6-month period. A total of 312 mothers who received spinal, epidural and general anesthesia were included. Their pain score was assessed using the visual analogue scale 24 h postoperatively.Results: 70.8% women had either moderate or severe pain on the visual analogue scale. About 41.3% women expressed dissatisfaction with their pain management and 70.5% women had difficulties in performing activities due to pain. Lower parity was noted to be a positive predictor of pain among women undergoing CS.Conclusion: Adequate pain management for post-CS patient at Labasa hospital is lacking.

A meta-ethnography of how children and young people with chronic non-cancer pain and their families experience and understand their condition, pain services, and treatments

BACKGROUND

Chronic non-cancer pain in childhood is widespread, affecting 20% to 35% of children and young people worldwide. For a sizeable number of children, chronic non-cancer pain has considerable negative impacts on their lives and quality of life, and leads to increased use of healthcare services and medication. In many countries, there are few services for managing children's chronic non-cancer pain, with many services being inadequate. Fourteen Cochrane Reviews assessing the effects of pharmacological, psychological, psychosocial, dietary or physical activity interventions for managing children's chronic non-cancer pain identified a lack of high-quality evidence to inform pain management. To design and deliver services and interventions that meet the needs of patients and their families, we need to understand how children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families experience pain, their views of services and treatments for chronic pain, and which outcomes are important to them.

OBJECTIVES

1. To synthesise qualitative studies that examine the experiences and perceptions of children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families regarding chronic non-cancer pain, treatments and services to inform the design and delivery of health and social care services, interventions and future research. 2. To explore whether our review findings help to explain the results of Cochrane Reviews of intervention effects of treatments for children's chronic non-cancer pain. 3. To determine if programme theories and outcomes of interventions match children and their families' views of desired treatments and outcomes. 4. To use our findings to inform the selection and design of patient-reported outcome measures for use in chronic non-cancer pain studies and interventions and care provision to children and their families. The review questions are: 1. How do children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families conceptualise chronic pain? 2. How do children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families live with chronic pain? 3. What do children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families think of how health and social care services respond to and manage their child's chronic pain? 4. What do children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families conceptualise as 'good' chronic pain management and what do they want to achieve from chronic pain management interventions and services?

SEARCH METHODS

Review strategy: we comprehensively searched 12 bibliographic databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo and grey literature sources, and conducted supplementary searches in 2020. We updated the database searches in September 2022.

SELECTION CRITERIA

To identify published and unpublished qualitative research with children aged 3 months to 18 years with chronic non-cancer pain and their families focusing on their perceptions, experiences and views of chronic pain, services and treatments. The final inclusion criteria were agreed with a patient and public involvement group of children and young people with chronic non-cancer pain and their families.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

We conducted a qualitative evidence synthesis using meta-ethnography, a seven-phase, systematic, interpretive, inductive methodology that takes into account the contexts and meanings of the original studies. We assessed the richness of eligible studies and purposively sampled rich studies ensuring they addressed the review questions. Cochrane Qualitative Methods Implementation Group guidance guided sampling. We assessed the methodological limitations of studies using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. We extracted data on study aims, focus, characteristics and conceptual findings from study reports using NVivo software. We compared these study data to determine how the studies related to one another and grouped studies by pain conditions for synthesis. We used meta-ethnography to synthesise each group of studies separately before synthesising them all together. Analysis and interpretation of studies involved children with chronic non-cancer pain and their families and has resulted in theory to inform service design and delivery. Sampling, organising studies for synthesis, and analysis and interpretation involved our patient and public involvement group who contributed throughout the conduct of the review. We used the GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) approach to assess our confidence in each review finding. We used a matrix approach to integrate our findings with existing Cochrane Reviews on treatment effectiveness for children's chronic non-cancer pain.

MAIN RESULTS

We synthesised 43 studies sampled from 170 eligible studies reported in 182 publications. Included studies involved 633 participants. GRADE-CERQual assessments of findings were mostly high (n = 21, 58%) or moderate (n = 12, 33%) confidence with three (8%) low or very low confidence. Poorly managed, moderate or severe chronic non-cancer pain had profound adverse impacts on family dynamics and relationships; family members' emotions, well-being, autonomy and sense of self-identity; parenting strategies; friendships and socialising; children's education and future employment prospects; and parental employment. Most children and parents understood chronic non-cancer pain as having an underlying biological cause and wanted curative treatment. However, families had difficulties seeking and obtaining support from health services to manage their child's pain and its impacts. Children and parents felt that healthcare professionals did not always listen to their experiences and expertise, or believe the child's pain. Some families repeatedly visited health services seeking a diagnosis and cure. Over time, some children and families gave up hope of effective treatment. Outcomes measured within trials and Cochrane Reviews of intervention effects did not include some outcomes of importance to children and families, including impacts of pain on the whole family and absence of pain. Cochrane Reviews have mainly neglected a holistic biopsychosocial approach, which specifies the interrelatedness of biological, psychological and social aspects of illness, when selecting outcome measures and considering how chronic pain management interventions work.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

We had high or moderate confidence in the evidence contributing to most review findings. Further research, especially into families' experiences of treatments and services, could strengthen the evidence for low or very low confidence findings. Future research should also explore families' experiences in low- to middle-income contexts; of pain treatments including opioid use in children, which remains controversial; and of social care services. We need development and testing of family-centred interventions and services acceptable to families. Future trials of children's chronic non-cancer pain interventions should include family-centred outcomes.

Investigating 3D-printed disk compressing against skin for pain relief in intradermal infiltration anesthesia: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Pain intensity may be varied during the needle advancing through different skin layers, injection into the intradermal layer may exclude mixed pain from deeper planes. This study aimed to investigate whether compressing a three-dimensional (3D)-printed disk against the skin may relieve pain associated with intradermal injection of local anesthetic which mimics the skin test procedure.

METHODS

After institutional review board approval, 3D-printed disks with projections were designed for this study. Enrolled patients were randomized to receive either a disk compressing against the axillary skin during the intradermal injection of local anesthesia (compressing disk group) or an intradermal injection of local anesthesia without any compression (no compressing disk group). The primary outcomes were pain intensity (100-mm visual analog scale) and satisfaction (5-point Likert scale) as assessed by patients.

RESULTS

Ninety patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists I-II physical status receiving intradermal local anesthesia prior to an ultrasound-guided axillary approach were included. Eighty-seven patients completed the study, with 44 and 43 patients in disk and no disk groups, respectively. Pain scores were significantly different (P < 0.001) in compressing disk (median, 10; IQR, 5-20) and no compressing disk (median, 30; IQR, 20-40) groups. The median satisfaction score was 5 in both groups. No complications occurred during follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Compressing a 3D-printed disk against the skin may reduce intradermal needle pain and offers an effective alternative for nerve block induction.

Microbiological and Physiological Effects of Pain

Pain is an important innate defense mechanism that can dramatically alter a person's quality of life. Understanding the microbiological and physiological effects of pain may be important in the pursuit of novel pain interventions. The three descriptors of pain recognized by the International Association for the Study of Pain are nociceptive, neuropathic, and nociplastic pain. Our review examined the current understanding of all three pain types, focusing on the key molecules involved in the manifestation of each type as well as physiological effects. Additionally, we compared the differences in painful and painless neuropathies and discussed the neuroimmune interaction involved in the manifestation of pain.

Dieckol attenuates the nociception and inflammatory responses in different nociceptive and inflammatory induced mice model

Pain is the common indicator of inflammatory ailments and traumatic tissue injuries. The dieckol is an important therapeutic compound, which present in many seaweeds. The present research work was planned to assess the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive actions of dieckol by using animal model. The anti-nociceptive action of dieckol was investigated by acetic acid triggered writhing, formalin provoked nociception, tail immersion test, hot-plate methods and the anti-inflammatory effects was explored by carrageenan triggered paw edema method. In the present investigation the administration of dieckol was remarkably suppressed and inhibited the acetic acid-provoked writhing, formalin-triggered nociception, tail immersion test, hot plate-provoked nociception in the experimental animals. The dieckol was significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited the carrageenan-triggered inflammation, leukocyte infiltration and diminished the formation of pro-inflammatory regulators in the experimental animals. Altogether, the dieckol was showed a potent anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity.

Immunization-Associated Pain: Taking Research to the Bedside

BACKGROUND

Immunization-associated pain is the number one cause of pain in pediatric settings. Untreated pain has many short- and long-term detrimental effects. The purpose of this project was to implement a nonpharmaceutical immunization-associated-pain prevention program.

METHOD

This project was implemented at a pediatric primary care clinic. Staff were educated about immunization-associated pain and techniques for decreasing/preventing pain. Families were educated about pain control, and the practitioner and parent/child picked interventions to decrease pain. Preimplementation and postimplementation data were collected using previously validated pain and satisfaction scales.

RESULTS

Pain prevention interventions decreased pain for children between 2 months and 7 years of age by 4.7 points on a Faces, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability (i.e., FLACC) scale. For children 7 years and older, pain during immunization decreased on average by 1.76 points on the visual analog scale.

CONCLUSION

Non-pharmaceutical interventions are effective in decreasing immunization-associated pain.

Antinociceptive Activity of Methanolic Extract of Clinacanthus nutans Leaves: Possible Mechanisms of Action Involved

Methanolic extract of Clinacanthus nutans Lindau leaves (MECN) has been proven to possess antinociceptive activity that works via the opioid and NO-dependent/cGMP-independent pathways. In the present study, we aimed to further determine the possible mechanisms of antinociception of MECN using various nociceptive assays. The antinociceptive activity of MECN was (i) tested against capsaicin-, glutamate-, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate-, bradykinin-induced nociception model; (ii) prechallenged against selective antagonist of opioid receptor subtypes (β-funaltrexamine, naltrindole, and nor-binaltorphimine); (iii) prechallenged against antagonist of nonopioid systems, namely, α₂-noradrenergic (yohimbine), β-adrenergic (pindolol), adenosinergic (caffeine), dopaminergic (haloperidol), and cholinergic (atropine) receptors; (iv) prechallenged with inhibitors of various potassium channels (glibenclamide, apamin, charybdotoxin, and tetraethylammonium chloride). The results demonstrated that the orally administered MECN (100, 250, and 500 mg/kg) significantly (p < 0.05) reversed the nociceptive effect of all models in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, the antinociceptive activity of 500 mg/kg MECN was significantly (p < 0.05) inhibited by (i) antagonists of μ-, δ-, and κ-opioid receptors; (ii) antagonists of α₂-noradrenergic, β-adrenergic, adenosinergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic receptors; and (iii) blockers of different K⁺ channels (voltage-activated-, Ca²⁺-activated, and ATP-sensitive-K⁺ channels, resp.). In conclusion, MECN-induced antinociception involves modulation of protein kinase C-, bradykinin-, TRVP1 receptors-, and glutamatergic-signaling pathways; opioidergic, α₂-noradrenergic, β-adrenergic, adenosinergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic receptors; and nonopioidergic receptors as well as the opening of various K⁺ channels. The antinociceptive activity could be associated with the presence of several flavonoid-based bioactive compounds and their synergistic action with nonvolatile bioactive compounds.

Pathophysiology, assessment, and management of pain in critically ill adults

PURPOSE

The pathophysiology of pain in critically ill patients, the role of pain assessment in optimal pain management, and pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies for pain prevention and treatment are reviewed.

SUMMARY

There are many short- and long-term consequences of inadequately treated pain, including hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, an increased risk of infection, decreased patient comfort and satisfaction, and the development of chronic pain. Clinicians should have an understanding of the basic physiology of pain and the patient populations that are affected. Pain should be assessed using validated pain scales that are appropriate for the patient's communication status. Opioids are the cornerstone of pain treatment. The use of opioids, administered via bolus dosing or continuous infusion, should be guided by patient-specific goals of care in order to avoid adverse events. A multimodal approach to pain management, including the use of regional analgesia, may improve patient outcomes and decrease opioid-related adverse events, though there are limited relevant data in adult critically ill patient populations. Nonpharmacologic strategies have been shown to be effective adjuncts to pharmacologic regimens that can improve patient-reported pain intensity and reduce analgesic requirements. Analgesic regimens need to take into account patient-specific factors and be closely monitored for safety and efficacy.

CONCLUSION

Acute pain management in the critically ill is a largely underassessed and undertreated area of critical care. Opioids are the cornerstone of treatment, though a multimodal approach may improve patient outcomes and decrease opioid-related adverse events.

Management of the patient with chronic pain

Chronic pain is a significant complex problem in the perioperative environment. The management of patients with chronic pain has presented new challenges to anesthesia providers in the perioperative setting. The treatment of pain is often inadequate, and patients with preexisting chronic pain are not being managed properly. Although numerous techniques for intraoperative analgesia have been established, no official guidelines have been published for the growing population of patients with chronic pain. This article provides insight into and awareness of the various elements that should be addressed, along with interventions for the patient with chronic pain in the perioperative setting.

Older people and barriers to self-reporting of chronic pain

Too many older adults live with the negative consequences of chronic pain and its detrimental impact on quality of life. To explore this, an extended literature review was conducted to identify barriers the older person encountered in the self-reporting of their chronic pain. Four themes were found to mediate help-seeking behaviour. Attitudes such as stoicism, beliefs such as pain being a necessary part of ageing, and the external barriers generated by health professionals, all have a multidimensional relationship with the 'decision' to seek help for pain. Personality and the perceived importance of independence were found to influence these responses. The findings imply that communication between the health professional and patient needs to improve during the more comprehensive assessment of chronic pain. To achieve such improvements, it is first necessary to eradicate ageist attitudes held both by the elderly and within health care.

Knowledge of doctors and nurses on pain in patients undergoing craniotomy

The study objectives were to characterize the profile of the doctors and nurses caring for patients in the craniotomy postoperative period, checking pain assessment methods and to identify the existence of analgesia protocols. Cross-sectional and analytical study. The casuistry is constituted of 30 doctors and 30 nurses. The results revealed that 83.3 % of the nurses were female, 63.3% knew pain scales, and 16.6% said that analgesia protocols exist. Regarding doctors 60% were male, 70% knew the pain scales, 3.3% had specialization in pain treatment, 13.3% they stated that there are analgesia protocols. The ignorance on the part of doctors and nurses about the assessment scales and pain assessment methods reveals the need for the creation of institutional policies on controlling pain, the use of instruments for the measurement of the pain phenomenon and analgesia protocols in the institution.

Immediate post-craniotomy headache

Introduction

Headache is the most common adverse event immediately following craniotomy and is due to the surgical procedure and meningeal irritation.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of headache during the first week after a craniotomy, as well as headache intensity, whether pain was registered in the patient's medical records, the use of analgesics and predictors of headache.

Methods

Ninety-one patients who underwent craniotomy were evaluated from the first to the seventh post-operative day. The variables analysed were gender, age, medical history, indication for craniotomy, surgery, occurrence of headache, pain registration in the medical records, length of hospital stay and analgesics consumption.

Results

On the second post-operative day, 29.2% of patients had a headache and there was under-reporting of this pain in the patients’ records. The analgesics used were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory in 75% of cases. An age of <45 years (odds ratio = 3.0, p = 0.041) and surgery duration lasting >4 hours (odds ratio = 3.7, p = 0.019) were associated with the occurrence of immediate post-craniotomy headache.

Conclusion

Further training should be provided to professionals caring for patients undergoing craniotomy to better manage post-operative headache.

Oral sucrose for pain control in nonneonate infants during minor painful procedures

PURPOSE

To provide information regarding the effective use of oral sucrose as an analgesic for immunization and venipuncture procedures in the older infant.

DATA SOURCES

Evidence-based literature including original clinical trials, reviews, and clinical practice guidelines.

CONCLUSIONS

Most infants are exposed to multiple minor painful procedures during the first year of life. Oral sucrose solution in a 24% concentration at a dose of 2 mL approximately 2 min prior to the painful procedure has been shown effective in reducing pain during immunizations and venipuncture in the outpatient setting in infants aged 1-12 months old.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Oral sucrose solution should be used as a pain reduction intervention in infants up to 12 months of age undergoing minor painful procedures. Its proven effectiveness as an analgesic, low rate of minor adverse events, ease of administration, and excellent availability make sucrose a good choice for this purpose. Additional research is needed regarding dose response in different infant age groups, optimal concentration of sucrose solution, need for multiple sucrose dosing, adjustment for multiple painful procedures, and addition of optimal nonpharmacologic interventions as a combination approach.

Pain management in critically ill obese patients

Achieving pain control in critically ill patients is a challenging problem for the health care team, which becomes more challenging in morbidly obese patients. Obese patients may experience drug malabsorption and distribution, which may lead to either subtherapeutic or toxic drug levels. To manage pain effectively for the critically ill obese patient, nurses must have an understanding of how obesity alters a patient's physiologic response to injury and illness. In addition, nurses must be knowledgeable about physiologic pain mechanisms, types and manifestations of pain, differing patterns of drug absorption and distribution, pharmacokinetic properties of analgesic medications, and pain management strategies. This article explores factors affecting pharmacokinetics in obese patients, trends in pain management, and treatment strategies for the obese patient.

Critical care nurses' experiences: "a good relationship with the patient is a prerequisite for successful pain relief management"

There is a lack of studies describing how critical care nurses experience assessing and treating pain in patients receiving postoperative care in an intensive care unit (ICU). The aim of this study was to describe those experiences. Qualitative personal interviews with six critical care nurses in an ICU in northern Sweden were conducted during 2009. The interview texts were subjected to qualitative content analysis, which resulted in the formulation of one theme and four categories. It was important to be able to recognize signs of pain in patients unable to communicate verbally. In older patients, anxiety could be interpreted as an indication of pain. Pain was primarily assessed by means of a visual analog scale. Being unable to treat pain successfully was experienced as failing in one's work. Pharmacologic treatment was always the first choice for relief. The environment was experienced as a hindrance to optimal nursing care, because all postoperative patients shared a room with only curtains between them. The work of assessing and treating pain in patients receiving postoperative care is an important and frequent task for critical care nurses, and knowledge in the field is essential if the patients are to receive optimal nursing care and treatment. Patients cared for in an ICU might benefit from nonpharmacologic treatment. Being without pain after surgery implies increased well-being and shorter hospitalization for the patient.