Relationships of Pain Treatment With Dementia and Functional Outcome in Medicare Home Health Care

Adequate pain management is important to post-acute care functional recovery, yet persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) are often under-treated for pain. The objectives of this study were to examine in Medicare post-acute home health (HH) recipients with daily interfering pain 1) if analgesic use at home is related to functional outcome, and 2) if ADRD is related to the likelihood of analgesic use at home. We analyzed data from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set, Medicare claims, and electronic medical records of 6,039 Medicare beneficiaries ≥ 65 years who received care from a large HH agency in New York in 2019 and reported daily interfering pain. Analgesic use was identified in medication reconciliation of HH visits and categorized into any analgesics or opioid(s). ADRD was identified from ICD-10 codes and significant cognitive impairment. Functional outcome was measured as change in the composite score of Activity of Daily Living (ADL) limitations from HH admission to HH discharge. Use of any analgesics at home was associated with greater ADL improvement from HH admission to HH discharge (β= -0.20 [greater improvement by 0.2 ADLs], 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: -0.37, -0.04; p=0.017). Compared with patients without ADRD, those with ADRD were less likely to use any analgesics (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.49, 0.90, p=0.008) or opioids (OR=0.53, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.62, p<0.001) at home. Adequate pain management is essential to functional improvement in post-acute HH care. Patients with ADRD may be under-treated for pain in post-acute HH care.

The experience of pain among cancer patients at the University of the Philippines: Philippine General Hospital Cancer Institute—A cross-sectional study.

e24078 Background: Pain is one of the most common and dreaded sequelae of cancer, occurring in approximately 55% of patients. The experience of pain takes a toll on the patients’ quality of life. However, many patients do not receive adequate pain management. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of pain, its severity, and the adequacy of pain management among cancer patients in the Philippines. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a representative cancer center in the Philippines, enrolling 351 cancer patients. Pain severity was assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form (BPI-SF) Filipino. The BPI evaluates pain severity and its impact on daily functioning (pain interference). To ascertain the adequacy of pain control, the pain management index (PMI) was calculated by subtracting the subtracting the severity of pain reported by the patient from the type of analgesic treatment received. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with worst pain and adequacy of pain management. Data were analyzed using Stata version 16.0, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Three hundred three cancer patients (86.3%) experienced pain. Approximately 3 out of 5 patients (n = 208) did not receive adequate pain control, and one-third of patients experienced severe pain (n = 121). Patients who reported severe pain interference (n = 110) had three times greater odds to experience severe pain (OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.82-5.61, p < 0.001). Those patients who had regular follow up were 65% less likely to experience severe pain (OR 0.35, 95% CI 0.16 – 0.78, p = 0.01). Patients who used pain medications (n = 196) were 14 times more likely to experience adequate pain management (OR 14.19, 95% CI 6.53 – 30.83, p < 0.001). Patients who were referred to pain service (n = 25) were seven times more likely to report adequate pain control (OR 6.62, 95% CI 2.50 – 17.56, p < 0.001). Conversely, those patients who reported a severe rating on total pain interference were 75% less likely to experience adequate pain management (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.17 – 0.35, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Unexpectedly, there was a high prevalence of pain among cancer patients at a representative cancer center in the Philippines. Pain exerts a heavy toll on patients, affecting daily functioning. The undertreatment of pain discovered in this study (59% of cancer patients) is alarming. Timely pain evaluation can help identify the presence of pain and the need for appropriate use of analgesics. The assessment and management of pain is a critical component of cancer care that should not be neglected.

Manajemen Nyeri Terkini pada Pasien Pasca Seksio Sesarea

Prosedur Seksio Sesarea (SS) seringkali menyebabkan nyeri sedang hingga berat selama 48 jam. Tujuan manajemen nyeri pascabedah adalah untuk memberikan kenyamanan pada pasien, menghambat impuls nosiseptif, dan menumpulkan respon neuroendokrin terhadap nyeri, yang dengan demikian mempercepat kembalinya fungsi fisiologis. Selain itu, manajemen nyeri yang adekuat pada pasien SS memungkinkan mobilisasi dini untuk mencegah risiko tromboemboli yang meningkat selama kehamilan dan pasien perlu bebas nyeri untuk merawat bayi serta memberikan ASI secara efektif. Mekanisme nyeri pascabedah terdiri dari sensitisasi perifer dan senstisasi sentral dari susunan saraf. Dampak klinik sensitisasi sistem saraf berupa hiperalgesia dan alodinia. Sensitisasi pascabedah akan mengakibatkan penderitaan bagi pasien sehingga pada akhirnya dapat meningkatkan angka morbiditas dan mortalitas pascabedah, oleh karena itu manajemen nyeri pascabedah harus ditujukan ke arah pencegahan dan meminimalkan terjadinya proses sensitisasi. Analgesia multimodal dengan mengkombinasi obat yang menghambat sensitisasi perifer dan sentral, dengan opioid sebagai analgesia penyelamat dapat menjadi pilihan untuk memberikan manajemen nyeri yang adekuat dan meminimalkan efek samping. Current Practice for Post Operative Pain Management in Caesarean Section Abstract Caesarean section (CS) is frequently followed by moderate to severe pain up to 48 hours after surgery. Postoperative pain management is aimed to provide postoperative comfortness, inhibits nociceptive impulse, and blunts neuroendocrine response to pain, thus enhance the return of physiological function. Moreover, an adequate pain management in CS patients allows early mobilization in preventing the increased of thromboemboli risk during pregnancy, the need of patients to be pain free in taking care of the baby as well as effective breastfeeding. Postoperative pain mechanism consists of peripheral and central senzitisation of nervous system. Clinical impact of nervous system sensitization including hyperalgesia and allodynia. Postoperative sensitization resulted in patient’s suffering that increase morbidity and mortality rate eventually. Therefore, postoperative pain management should be directed to prevent and minimalize sensitization process. Multimodal analgesia by combining analgesics inhibited peripheral and central sensitization, with opioid as rescue analgesic may be preferred to provide adequate pain management and to minimalize the adverse effects.

Factors related to pain management adequacy in patients receiving palliative care: data from a tertiary hospital in Indonesia

BACKGROUND Adequate pain management must be applied to improve the quality of life, particularly in patients receiving palliative care. Thus, this study aimed to determine the factors related to pain management adequacy in patients receiving palliative care. METHODS This cross-sectional study included all patients sent for consultation to the palliative care team complaining of pain in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, Jakarta, Indonesia from 2016 to 2018. All data such as gender, age, employment status, disease type, primary cancer location, pain intensity, analgesic drug treatment duration, and the presence of anxiety and depression were retrieved from medical records. Pain management adequacy was evaluated using the pain management index. Logistic regression included all variables with p<0.25 related to pain management adequacyin bivariate analysis. RESULTS Out of 175 patients with pain, 85.7% reported having adequate pain management. Pain was more adequately treated in patients with employment (p = 0.001), milder pain intensity (p<0.001), those using opioids (p<0.001), and those who did not experience anxiety (p = 0.05). Factors related to pain management adequacy were opioid use (OR = 3.23, 95% CI = 1.71–6.13) and milder pain (OR = 11.15, 95% CI = 3.89–31.99). CONCLUSIONS Most of the patients received adequate pain management which related to opioid use and milder pain.

Knowledge of Pain Neurophysiology Among Physiotherapists Practising in Saudi Arabia

Objectives Healthcare practitioners’ understanding of pain neuroscience is important in effective management of patient pain. A major barrier to adequate pain management is patients’ limited access to clinicians who are knowledgeable about pain. The study aims to examine the level of knowledge of pain neurophysiology among currently practising physiotherapists in Saudi Arabia using the 12-item Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire.Results One hundred eleven physiotherapists (58.6% male) from different regions and educational backgrounds participated in the study. Out of a maximum Revised Neurophysiology of Pain Questionnaire score of 12, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) was 6.7 ± 2.2; 90% of physiotherapists scored 9 (75%) or less. None of the examined characteristics of participants had an impact on knowledge.

Does meloxicam provide adequate pain management as a post-operative analgesic in canine ovariohysterectomy patients?

Background: Meloxicam is an analgesic agent with anti-inflammatory properties, commonly used in veterinary practices to treat a variety of different long-term medical conditions and is also used as a short-term pain relief following particularly traumatic surgeries. Aims: An observational study was conducted to determine whether meloxicam provides adequate pain management as a post-operative analgesic for canine ovariohysterectomies. Methods: 13 canines were admitted for ovariohysterectomy. Each patient was assessed using the Glasgow composite pain scale (CMPS) prior to surgery during the admission procedure, 15 minutes post-operatively, at discharge and at their post-operative check (POC) 3–5 days after surgery. Results: Data were statistically analysed to determine the overall effectiveness of meloxicam in reducing pain following canine ovariohysterectomy. The results showed a statistically significant difference (Kruskal-Wallis test: H3 =12.98, p=0.005) in pain scores between admission, 15 minutes post operatively, discharge and 3–5 days POC. The greatest decrease in pain score was between 15 minutes post-operatively and POC (Mann-Whitney U test: W=236, n=13, 13, p=0.0014) and between discharge and POC (Mann-Whitney U test: W=227, n=13, 13, p=0.0060). Overall, this demonstrated that there was an improvement in pain suggesting meloxicam is effective between these time frames. In addition, 69.2% (n=9) of patients in the study showed a pain score of 0, indicating an absence of pain, on their final POC. Statistical analysis was also used to determine if there was any difference in pain score between the 3, 4 or 5 day POC pain score. The results show there was no significant difference (Kruskal-Wallis test: H2 =0.090, p=0.638) suggesting that meloxicam's effectiveness was similar across this range of time post surgery. Conclusion: The results from the study indicate that meloxicam is an effective post-operative analgesic for canine patients undergoing an ovariohysterectomy.

Impact of audit and feedback with action implementation toolbox on improving ICU pain management: cluster-randomised controlled trial

BackgroundAudit and feedback (A&F) enjoys widespread use, but often achieves only marginal improvements in care. Providing recipients of A&F with suggested actions to overcome barriers (action implementation toolbox) may increase effectiveness.ObjectiveTo assess the impact of adding an action implementation toolbox to an electronic A&F intervention targeting quality of pain management in intensive care units (ICUs).Trial designTwo-armed cluster-randomised controlled trial. Randomisation was computer generated, with allocation concealment by a researcher, unaffiliated with the study. Investigators were not blinded to the group assignment of an ICU.ParticipantsTwenty-one Dutch ICUs and patients eligible for pain measurement.InterventionsFeedback-only versus feedback with action implementation toolbox.OutcomeProportion of patient-shift observations where pain management was adequate; composed by two process (measuring pain at least once per patient in each shift; re-measuring unacceptable pain scores within 1 hour) and two outcome indicators (acceptable pain scores; unacceptable pain scores normalised within 1 hour).Results21 ICUs (feedback-only n=11; feedback-with-toolbox n=10) with a total of 253 530 patient-shift observations were analysed. We found absolute improvement on adequate pain management in the feedback-with-toolbox group (14.8%; 95% CI 14.0% to 15.5%) and the feedback-only group (4.8%; 95% CI 4.2% to 5.5%). Improvement was limited to the two process indicators. The feedback-with-toolbox group achieved larger effects than the feedback-only group both on the composite adequate pain management (p<0.05) and on measuring pain each shift (p<0.001). No important adverse effects have occurred.ConclusionFeedback with toolbox improved the number of shifts where patients received adequate pain management compared with feedback alone, but only in process and not outcome indicators.Trial registration numberNCT02922101.