Breakthrough pain characteristics and syndromes in patients with cancer pain. An international survey.

Breakthrough pain (BKP) is a transitory flare of pain that occurs on a background of relatively well controlled baseline pain. Previous surveys have found that BKP is highly prevalent among patients with cancer pain and predicts more severe pain, pain-related distress and functional impairment, and relatively poor quality of life. An international group of investigators assembled by a task force of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) evaluated the prevalence and characteristics of BKP as part of a prospective, cross-sectional survey of cancer pain. Fifty-eight clinicians in 24 countries evaluated a total of 1095 patients with cancer pain using patient-rated items from the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and observer-rated measures. The observer-rated information included demographic and tumor-related data, the occurrence of BKP, and responses on checklists of pain syndromes and pathophysiologies. The clinicians reported BKP in 64.8% of patients. Physicians from English-speaking countries were significantly more likely to report BKP than other physicians. BKP was associated with higher pain scores and functional interference on the BPI. Multivariate analysis showed an independent association of BKP with the presence of more than one pain, a vertebral pain syndrome, pain due to plexopathy, and English-speaking country. These data confirm the high prevalence of BKP, its association with more severe pain and functional impairment, and its relationship to specific cancer pain syndromes. Further studies are needed to characterize subtypes of BKP. The uneven distribution of BKP reporting across pain specialists from different countries suggests that more standardized methods for diagnosing BKP are needed.

Neuropeptide FF-like immunoreactivity in human cerebrospinal fluid of chronic pain patients and healthy controls.

Neuropeptide FF (NPFF) is a neuropeptide with some antiopioid characters found in several mammalian species. In human brain it might be an important pain-regulating peptide. Using a specific and sensitive radioimmunoassay we found a mean concentration of NPFF in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of healthy volunteers of 1.6 +/- 1.1 pg/ml (n = 19) and in chronic pain (CPD) patients of 1.4 +/- 1.2 pg/ml (n = 16). The NPFF concentrations in CSF and plasma did not correlate. There was no difference in the NPFF concentrations in CSF and plasma between CPD patients and healthy controls. NPFF in CPD patients did not correlate significally with any pain characteristic. This study provides evidence for the presence of NPFF in human brain, but does not support the hypothesis that chronic pain is a consequence of elevated production of NPFF.

Elevated plasma vasopressin and normal cerebrospinal fluid angiotensin-converting enzyme in chronic pain disorder.

The study was performed proceeding from the hypothesis that pain proneness in chronic pain disorder (CPD) is a result of alterations in central mechanisms regulating pain sensations. To elucidate the function of the central renin-angiotensin system, the levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and peripheral blood were measured in 15 CPD patients and 19 healthy controls. Plasma AVP levels (p = .01) as well as the serum osmolality (p = .01) were significantly higher in the CPD group. No significant differences in CSF ACE levels were found. AVP is a stress-related peptide, but central antinociceptive effects have also been reported. Elevated plasma AVP levels possibly may constitute a response to chronic stress.

Quantitation of the enflurane-sparing effect of alfentanil during general surgery.

The authors quantitated the enflurane-sparing effect of alfentanil during N2O/O2 anaesthesia in 50 patients undergoing body surface surgery and in 50 patients undergoing upper abdominal surgery. Patients were assigned to one of five treatment regimens (10 patients each group, double-blind administration) as follows: placebo bolus followed by placebo infusion (group I); or alfentanil bolus (30 micrograms kg-1) followed by infusion of placebo (group II) or alfentanil, at the rate of 10 (group III), 20 (group IV), or 40 (group V) micrograms kg-1 h-1. Anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone and vecuronium, and neuromuscular block was kept at 85-90% by continuous infusion of vecuronium. Increases in spontaneous electromyographic activity of neck muscles (NEMG) and in systolic blood pressure (SBP) served as criteria of inadequate anaesthesia. When such increases occurred, enflurane was given in 0.2% steps (end-tidal concentration) of 5 min each, until the increases were suppressed. The relationship between increases in NEMG and increases in SBP was inconsistent: only 10% of the increases occurred simultaneously. With alfentanil, the consumption of enflurane decreased by as much as 70% (P < 0.001) during superficial surgery and 50% (P < 0.05) during abdominal surgery.

Effect of spiritual healing on chronic idiopathic pain: a medical and psychological study.

OBJECTIVE: To study over a period of one and a half years the effect of spiritual healing on patients with idiopathic pain syndrome using several psychological and medical parameters. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Outpatient pain clinic. PATIENTS: Twenty-four patients with idiopathic chronic pain who had passed a pretreatment psychological interview were allocated randomly to receive spiritual healing or no active treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Medical interview (Visual Analog Scale and Pain Clinic Investigation Formula); International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Data Base Outline; psychological interview (Hopkin's Symptom Checklist, Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire, Beck's Depression Inventory, Coping Strategy Questionnaire, Health Locus of Control scale). Patients were evaluated at baseline and at 2 weeks posttreatment. Final assessment at 1 year posttreatment was done with a modified form of IASP Data Base Outline. RESULTS: There was a minor decrease in analgesic drug intake and an improvement in sleep patterns in patients treated by the healer. Generally, clinical variables remained unchanged. Attitudes toward spiritual healing improved. There was a decrease in the feeling of hopelessness (p < 0.05) and an increased acceptance of psychological factors as reasons for pain (p < 0.05). Other scores of the psychological tests were unaffected by the healing. However, half (n = 6) of the treated patients felt that spiritual healing gave them some relief. CONCLUSION: Spiritual healing appears harmless and was subjectively helpful to some patients suffering from idiopathic chronic pain syndrome.

Intravenous morphine and oxycodone for pain after abdominal surgery.

Intravenous morphine and oxycodone were given double blind in doses of 0.05 mg/kg after major abdominal surgery to 39 patients. The dosing interval was 5 min, until the patient did not want any further analgesics. Less oxycodone was needed than morphine, both to achieve the "first state of pain relief" (13.2 mg vs. 24.9 mg) and during the whole 2-h study period (21.8 mg vs. 34.2 mg). The "first state of pain relief" was achieved faster (28 min vs. 46 min) and lasted longer (39 min vs. 27 min) with oxycodone than morphine. Morphine caused more sedation and a greater decrease in the mean arterial blood pressure than oxycodone. In other respects the two opioids were comparable.

The efficacy of intravenous indomethacin in prevention of postoperative pain.

Since intravenous prophylactic anti-inflammatory agents have been suggested to reduce or even replace opiates in postoperative pain therapy, we studied the demand for morphine in 45 patients recovering from abdominal surgery who had received a baseline infusion of either indomethacin, morphine or saline placebo. When extubated after inhalational anaesthesia, each patient received an i.v. bolus of either 0.5 mg.kg-1 indomethacin, 0.07 mg.kg-1 morphine or saline placebo. Thereafter a 20-h infusion of the same test analgesic was started, either 0.1 mg.kg-1.h-1 indomethacin, 0.03 mg.kg-1.h-1 morphine or saline placebo. For additional analgesia, a patient-controlled analgesia device (PCA) delivering 5-mg boluses of morphine was used. For the first 5 postoperative hours, significantly more (P less than 0.05) PCA morphine was needed in the indomethacin group (35 mg) than in the morphine group (24 mg), while the placebo group demanded mean 30 mg. For equal analgesia (measured by VAS and VRS) between 5-20 h, similar amounts (mean 23 and 19 mg) of PCA morphine were required in the indomethacin and morphine groups, in contrast to the placebo group (mean 40 mg) (P less than 0.001). Morphine infusion increased the total consumption of morphine by 25% as compared to placebo. We conclude that, following abdominal surgery, the analgesic effect of indomethacin infusion became apparent after the first 5 postoperative hours, thereafter reducing the demand for PCA morphine by about 40%. Continuous morphine infusion diminishes the postoperative demand for PCA morphine, but also increases the total morphine consumption.

[Herpes zoster neuralgia--a persistent therapeutic problem]. / Herpes zosterneuralgi--ett envist terapeutiskt problem.

Most patients with acute herpes zoster (AHN) who are younger than 50 yrs recover spontaneously and need no more specific medication than NSAID-analgetics. However, older patients and those treated with immunosuppressive medication are at high risk of developing postherpetic neuralgy (PHN), and may need intensive treatment for severe pain. Unfortunately there is no specific method so far to prevent PHN. In the prevention of PHN some promising results have been gained with antiviral drugs, sympathetic blocks, corticosteroids, psychotropic and anticonvulsive drugs. The earlier any of these treatments is started in AHM, the better results. When PHN has developed, in most cases there is no effective treatment to be offered. In the Pain Clinic of Helsinki University Hospital antidepressive and neuroleptic drugs as well as transcutaneous neurostimulation have been used for PHN treatment.

Double-blind comparison of transdermal scopolamine, droperidol and placebo against postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Since transdermal scopolamine (TS) seems effective against seasickness, we compared its antiemetic effect with intravenous droperidol (DHBP), our routine antidote for postoperative emesis. Ninety-six female patients (ASA I-II) scheduled for short-stay surgery were randomly allocated to three study groups after giving their informed consent. The three groups were as follows: TS adhesive, delivering 140 micrograms initially and 5 micrograms/h thereafter + placebo 0.5 ml i.v. 5 min before the end of surgery; transdermal placebo adhesive preoperatively + DHBP 0.5 ml (1.25 mg) i.v. 5 min before the end of surgery; transdermal placebo + 0.5 ml placebo i.v. as indicated above. Oxycodone i.m. and glycopyrrolate i.v. were given for premedication together with the test adhesive. Anaesthesia was induced with thiopental and maintained with nitrous oxide and oxygen, enflurane, vecuronium and fentanyl. Neostigmine and glycopyrrolate were administered for reversal. In the recovery room no differences in nausea or vomiting were observed between the groups. Sedation was significantly more marked (P less than 0.15-0.0001) after DHBP than after either TS or the given DHBP and 6% of those given the placebo (P less than 0.05). During the following 24 h nausea was reported more by the placebo patients (25) than by those on TS (20) or DHBP (15) (P less than 0.05). However, actual vomiting on the ward did not differ between the groups. Visual disturbances were more frequent after TS (P less than 0.01). We conclude that prophylactic transdermal scopolamine does not diminish postoperative emetic sequelae.

Opioid treatment for radiating cancer pain: oral administration vs. epidural techniques.

In order to determine the optimal pain treatment for patients with cancer involvement of the brachial or lumbar nerve plexuses, a prospective comparative study was carried out using peroral opioid therapy (SO), epidural opioid by a conventional tunnelled epidural catheter (CE) or an epidural catheter connected to an implanted injection port (Port). Pain relief, measured by a visual analog scale (VAS), was similar and adequate in every group already after the first 24 h. CNS side-effects were less frequent and the Karnofsky performance grades slightly superior in the epidural groups. Occlusion and catheter disconnection complicated the pain therapy of five epidural port patients. Epidural dislocation occurred three times in the conventional epidural group. One local infection in the CE group and two in the Port group were recorded. However, no signs of epidural infection were seen at autopsy. The results suggest that due to a lower incidence of side-effects, epidural catheter techniques are superior to peroral opioid in treating pain in these patients. However, complete pain relief was not achieved in all patients, suggesting neurogenic, non-nociceptive pain components. Both epidural techniques seem suitable for long-term pain therapy. Technical improvements are needed in the epidural catheter and the port. The long-term epidural catheter does not seem to cause any major changes in the histology of the dura mater or the connective tissue of the epidural space.

Efficacy of diclofenac in a single prophylactic dose in postoperative pain.

Prophylactic diclofenac (Voltaren) in postoperative pain was studied in 60 surgical patients who underwent either abdominal (30 patients) or superficial (30 patients) surgery. During anaesthesia, no analgesic or narcotic drugs were given. Immediately after surgery, an intravenous infusion of 100 ml normal saline or saline with 75 mg of diclofenac was administered over 10 minutes under double-blind randomized conditions. The 2-hour study period was started when the patients complained of pain or half an hour after the end of anaesthesia. For pain relief during the study period, 4 mg of oxycodone was repeatedly given on demand. The initial mean pain intensity values were significantly higher after abdominal surgery than after superficial surgery but there were no statistically significant differences between diclofenac and placebo groups. The mean amount of oxycodone required after diclofenac was not significantly lower than after placebo (10.9 +/- 1.9 mg vs. 13.1 +/- 1.4 mg after abdominal surgery and 3.2 +/- 0.8 mg vs. 4.0 +/- 1.2 mg after superficial surgery). The pain relief obtained with oxycodone was similar after diclofenac and placebo. According to the present results, prophylactic use of diclofenac does not significantly reduce the need for narcotic analgesics in the immediate postoperative phase in general surgery.

Hyperpotassemia during massive blood transfusions.

Eleven of 21 patients having received more than 10 units of whole blood developed hyperpotassemia during the rapid phase of transfusion. The increase in serum potassium from initial values correlated well (r = 0.74) with the rate of the transfusion. Three of the hyperpotassemic patients developed cardiac arrest but no life-threatening arrhythmias were registered in the normokalemic patients. In contrast to most previous studies, transient hyperpotassemia often necessitating aggressive therapy was quite common in our massively transfused patients.

Manometry with needle cholangiography. A new technique.

A new method of cholangiomanometry developed on the basis of operative needle cholangiography is described. The pressure of the common bile duct is recorded during continuous infusion using two different speeds. The procedure is complemented by pressure controlled injections of a contrast medium and by fentanyl test to study the function of the sphincter of Oddi.

Effect of anaesthesia on fentanyl-induced changes in human intracholedochal pressure.

Intracholedochal passage pressures (ICPP) were measured during halothane, enflurane and isoflurane anaesthesia as well as during anaesthesia without any volatile agent and in patients with a postoperative T-tube. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean ICPP between the study groups (altogether 49 patients). After i.v. fentanyl 0.1 mg a similar pressure increase (mean 0.5 kPa) was recorded in all anaesthetized groups as compared to a threefold increase (mean 1.6 kPa) in the postoperative group (p less than 0.001) with maximum at about 7 min in all groups. Intraoperative fentanyl did not cause surgically adverse effects i.e. false obstruction due to spasm in the operative cholangiography. It is concluded that all inhalation anaesthetics attenuate the ICPP response to fentanyl.