Browsing by Subject "Acute Pain"

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    Epigenetics and the transition from acute to chronic pain.
    (Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2012-11) Buchheit, Thomas; Van de Ven, Thomas; Shaw, Andrew
    The objective of this study was to review the epigenetic modifications involved in the transition from acute to chronic pain and to identify potential targets for the development of novel, individualized pain therapeutics.Epigenetics is the study of heritable modifications in gene expression and phenotype that do not require a change in genetic sequence to manifest their effects. Environmental toxins, medications, diet, and psychological stresses can alter epigenetic processes such as DNA methylation, histone acetylation, and RNA interference. As epigenetic modifications potentially play an important role in inflammatory cytokine metabolism, steroid responsiveness, and opioid sensitivity, they are likely key factors in the development of chronic pain. Although our knowledge of the human genetic code and disease-associated polymorphisms has grown significantly in the past decade, we have not yet been able to elucidate the mechanisms that lead to the development of persistent pain after nerve injury or surgery.This is a focused literature review of epigenetic science and its relationship to chronic pain.Significant laboratory and clinical data support the notion that epigenetic modifications are affected by the environment and lead to differential gene expression. Similar to mechanisms involved in the development of cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and inflammatory disorders, the literature endorses an important potential role for epigenetics in chronic pain.Epigenetic analysis may identify mechanisms critical to the development of chronic pain after injury, and may provide new pathways and target mechanisms for future drug development and individualized medicine.
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    Lidocaine patch for acute pain management: a meta-analysis of prospective controlled trials.
    (Curr Med Res Opin, 2015-03) Bai, Yaowu; Miller, Timothy; Tan, Mingjuan; Law, Lawrence Siu-Chun; Gan, Tong Joo
    BACKGROUND: Local anesthetic is one of the cornerstones of multimodal analgesia. We investigated the efficacy of the lidocaine patch for acute pain management. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register for published prospective controlled clinical trials that evaluated the analgesic effect of the lidocaine patch for acute or postoperative pain management (1966--2014). The outcomes were postoperative opioid consumption, pain intensity and length of hospital stay. RESULTS: Five trials comparing the lidocaine patch with control (no treatment/placebo) for acute or postoperative pain treatment/management were included in this meta-analysis. Data was analyzed on 251 patients. Between the lidocaine patch group and the control group, no significant difference was found for all three outcomes (all p > 0.05). For postoperative opioid consumption, mean difference (MD) was -8.2 mg morphine equivalent (95% CI -28.68, 12.24). For postoperative pain intensity, MD was -9.1 mm visual analog scale or equivalent (95% CI -23.31, 5.20). For length of hospital stay, MD was -0.2 days (95% CI -0.80, 0.43). CONCLUSION: Application of a lidocaine patch may not be an effective adjunct for acute and postoperative pain management, in terms of pain intensity, opioid consumption and length of hospital stay. LIMITATIONS: The limitations were a small number of included studies, potential biases from some unblinded studies, clinical heterogeneity between studies, and incomplete reported data for adjunct analgesics.