Clinical characteristics of patients with idiopathic pain syndromes. Depressive symptomatology and patient pain drawings

Abstract

The frequency of depressive symptomatology as estimated by means of self-rating on a visual analogue scale and the pain drawings by patients were compared between healthy volunteers, patients with neurogenic pain syndromes and patients with idiopathic pain syndromes. All patients with chronic pain syndromes had significantly more depressive symptomatology than the healthy volunteers. Patients with idiopathic pain syndromes had significantly more inhibition symptoms--memory disturbances and concentration difficulties--than patients with neurogenic pain syndromes. In the pain drawings, estimated by means of the technique suggested by Margolis et al. [10], the idiopathic pain patients had significantly higher scores on both raw scores and weighted body surface scores than the patients with neurogenic pain syndromes. Thus, both self-rating of depressive symptomatology and pain drawings can be of some help in the difficult clinical delineation between patients with idiopathic and neurogenic pain syndromes, respectively, but used as single measures, both methods have low discriminative power.

Anti-collagenolytic mechanism of action of doxycycline treatment in rheumatoid arthritis

“…Blood (Hb, ESR and CRP) and stimulated saliva samples were collected at baseline, at 6 weeks and at 12 weeks. In addition, the following assessments were made: a four-stage functional classification [29]; joint score index (measuring tenderness in proximal interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal, wrist, elbow, shoulder, acromioclavicular, sternoclavicular, jaw, cervical, hip, knee, talocrural, talocalcanear, metatarsophalangeal and toe joints on each side; scores 0-3) [30] performed by the principal investigator; the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) [31]; Visual Analogue Scale of Pain (VAS) [32]; Pain disability index (PDI, 7 VAS variables) [33]; and Comprehensible Psychopathological Rating Scale (CPRS, 5 VAS variables) [34].…”

Sensing the body in chronic pain: A review of psychophysical studies implicating altered body representation

“…When completing these questionnaires, patients are provided with an outline of a human figure and instructed to shade and/or mark the painful area. Perhaps the biggest advantage of pain drawings are their ability to highlight differences in pain location across different pain conditions for comparison (Almay, 1987;Mannion et al, 2007), as well as exploring the lateralising effects of chronic pain (Margolis et al, 1985;Löfvander et al, 2007). Whilst the technique has demonstrated high test-retest reliability (Margolis et al, 1988, r = 0.85;Ohnmeiss, 2000), the qualitative nature of such tasks ultimately leads to the question of what is actually being measured (Margolis et al, 1986;Parker et al, 1995).…”

Irrational Suffering – An Impact of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy on the Depression Level and the Perception of Pain in Cancer Patients

“…The stimuli whose site and intensity are well defined are less likely to arouse the patient's specific vigilance than the vague ones (e.g. Almay, 1987;Kostarczyk, 2003). The patient's attitude is of prime importance.…”