Postoperative analgesia: pain by choice? The influence of patient attitudes and patient education

Postoperative pain control can be unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons, including patients' attitudes towards pain treatment itself. To assess patients' expectations and their influence on postoperative analgesia, as well as the prevalence of pain following common gynaecological surgery, a prospective study was performed in 166 patients with either adbominal hysterectomy, mastectomy, laparoscopy or uterine curettage. After a first postoperative period with routine on-demand analgesia, a nurse specialised in pain treatment discussed the purposes and risks of pain treatment with the patients and cared for these patients in the second, subsequent study period. Following this discussion, 30 of 40 patients refusing analgesics in the first study period agreed to be given pain medication. In the groups with hysterectomy or mastectomy, pain control improved in the second postoperative period, even though the doses of analgesics administered were generally lower. Education of patients regarding the aims and risks of pain therapy is an essential part of pain control and can lead to an improvement of postoperative analgesia.     

A comprehensive strategy for the evaluation and triage of the chest pain patient: A cost comparison study

BACKGROUND: Our objective was to determine the cost-effectiveness of a comprehensive, risk-based triage system, composed of multiple critical pathways, with the use of early myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in low-risk patients. We found previously that a chest pain evaluation system that uses MPI in low-risk patients was safe and effective, but the cost-effectiveness of this approach was not studied. METHODS AND RESULTS: We compared two groups. The Acute Cardiac Team (ACT) group (n = 874) was assigned prospectively to 1 of 4 risk levels by emergency department (ED) physicians. Level 1, 2, and 3 patients were admitted; level 4 patients were evaluated in the ED. Level 3 and 4 patients underwent ED MPI. The control group (n = 713) represented consecutive patients evaluated in the prior year according to standard care and assigned retrospectively to an ACT level based on the presenting electrocardiographic and clinical data. Record and hospital administrative data were assessed for clinical variables, outcomes, lengths of stay, and all expenses incurred within 30 days of the index visit. The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar, including age, sex, myocardial infarction prevalence, and 30-day revascularization rates within each level or between the two groups. Mean costs per encounter were reduced for the ACT patients for each level, which was significant when all patients were compared ($5,030 +/- $7,081 vs $6,044 +/- $10,432, P =.02). Use of MPI in the low-risk patients was associated with reduced costs (level 3, $4,958 +/- $4,948 vs $5,051 +/- $7,036; level 4, $1,529 +/- $2,664 vs $1,794 +/- $6,854) and was associated with a significantly lower angiography rate and shorter length of stay. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a comprehensive strategy for chest pain evaluation and triage reduced overall costs for patients with chest pain on presentation. Acute MPI in the ED setting did not increase net cost.     

老年人食道病变呈心绞痛样胸痛13例分析

13例有心绞痛样胸痛的住院病人入院均诊有冠心病心绞痛,后均经ECG、8例心脏“B”超、核素心肌灌注及24小时动态ECG各2例,确诊冠心病5例,不支持冠心病8例;后均行GI,并同时行胃镜、食管24小时pH测定及压力测定各2例,确诊有胃食管反流疾病(GERD),本组自胸痛症状出现至GERD确诊病程平均29.5个月(0.5～120个月),报告2例典型病例,讨论了误漏诊原因,探讨了老年人食管性胸痛的诊疗程序。     

刺激视上核对大鼠痛阈及电针镇痛的影响

以钾离子透引起的大鼠甩尾反应为痛指标，观察了电和化学刺激视上核（ＳＯＮ）对大鼠痛阈（ＰＴ）和电针（ＥＡ）镇痛的影响。电刺激ＳＯＮ后，ＰＴ明显高于假刺激组（Ｐ＜０．０５～０．００１），电刺激ＳＯＮ后电针足三里，镇痛效应明显提高，并有明显的量效关系。电刺激ＳＯＮ的近旁部位（０．５—１ｍｍ）对ＰＴ及电针镇痛无明显影响。ＳＯＮ内注射Ｌ－谷氨酸（Ｌ－Ｇｌｕ）后痛阈和电针镇痛效应都明显对照组，也有明显的量效关     

Back pain from the epidemiological point of view

Summary In the last decades back pain has reached dramatic proportions in industrialized countries. Disorders of the back are nowadays the leading cause of direct and indirect health care costs. Accurate prevalence estimates are needed to serve as a basis for health care evaluations. A review of epidemiologic studies in the general population reveals that back pain has reached a prevalence of 40 % for current pain. 7 to 18 % are “frequently”, “often”, “daily” or “constantly” affected. 75 % of the adult population suffers from back pain during the last year. 80 to 90 % of the adult population in industrialized countries experience back pain ever. Gender specific differences are only present in severe, chronic forms which are more often experienced by women. Back pain has a prevalence maximum at 50 to 64 years. Older persons display lower prevalence estimates. The prevalence maximum in men is one decade earlier than in women. There are several potential explanations for this prevalence pattern that are discussed in the article. Back pain can be classified by location, temporal characteristics, pain intensity and pain history. Currently, for none of these dimensions generally accepted, uniformly employed and validated definitions are available. In most of the industrialized countries back pain is one of the most expensive symptoms. 75–90 % of the direct and indirect health care costs were caused by those 5–10 % of patients who are disabled. As predictors of back pain a history of back pain and job satisfaction play by far a more important role than the extensively studied mechanical factors. For a first episode of back pain the prognosis is favorable. If the pain persist for more than three months the prognosis is unfavorable. After six months of absenteeism because of back pain more than half of the afflicted never return to work. Rarely back pain is present as a single symptom. In more than 80 % back pain is associated with pain in at least one joint. It remains to be studied if back pain may be viewed as an entity or as part of a more complex pain syndrome.      

无张力疝修补术后顽固性疼痛原因和对策

目的 探讨无张力疝修补术后的顽固性疼痛病因及预防治疗。方法 将同期无张力疝修补术与传统的腹股沟疝修补方法进行比较。结果 无张力疝修补术后的顽固性疼痛率为9．02％(12／133)，传统的腹股沟疝修补方法疼痛率为8．61％(18／209)。无张力疝修补与传统的腹股沟疝修补相比，术后顽固性疼痛的发生率差异无显著性(P＞0．05)。结论 无张力疝修补并不一定减少传统的腹股沟疝修补术后顽固性疼痛，手术规范操作是预防的关键，治疗应先保守治疗，无效再考虑手术治疗。     

Tension neck and evaluation of a physical training course among office workers in a bank corporation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a physical training course in a group of patients (n=74) suffering from chronic tension neck. All participants in the course were employed by a bank corporation in Helsinki, Finland. A comparable control group (n=77) consisted of office workers with tension neck from the same bank corporation who did not attend any training course. The outcome was analysed 6 months after the course. Pain and disability in the neck and shoulder region did not vary significantly between the group which participated in the training course and the control group. The experimental group had increased the amount of physical workout compared to the control group (83.7% vs 69.0%, P = 0.0448). Also, regarding the frequency of relaxation and stretching exercises the two groups differed significantly: the experimental group had continued to perform exercises more often (P= 0.0434). The frequency of sick leave days did not significantly differ between the groups, but the office workers in the experimental group had more periods of extended sick leave (> 10 days) and the controls had more frequent short sick leaves. The experimental group did increase their physical workout significantly compared with the controls, but no differences were detected regarding pain and disability. In order to gain more benefit more attention should be paid to the educational part of the training courses in order to enhance the patients'self-care abilities. Also, strategies to alleviate psychosocial problems and organized relaxation exercises could decrease muscle tension in the neck in office workers.