The Greek-Orthodox version of the Brief Religious Coping (B-RCOPE) instrument: psychometric properties in three samples and associations with mental disorders, suicidality, illness perceptions, and quality of life

Background: The B-RCOPE is a brief measure assessing religious coping. We aimed to assess the psychometric properties of its Greek version in people with and without long-term conditions (LTCs). Associations between religious coping and mental illness, suicidality, illness perceptions, and quality of life were also investigated. Methods: The B-RCOPE was administered to 351 patients with diabetes, chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD), and rheumatic diseases attending either the emergency department (N = 74) or specialty clinics (N = 302) and 127 people without LTCs. Diagnosis of mental disorders was established by the MINI. Associations with depressive symptom severity (PHQ-9), suicidal risk (RASS), illness perceptions (B-IPQ), and health-related quality of life (WHOQOL-BREF) were also investigated. Results: The Greek version of B-RCOPE showed a coherent two-dimensional factor structure with remarkable stability across the three samples corresponding to the positive (PRC) and negative (NRC) religious coping dimensions. Cronbach’s alphas were 0.91–0.96 and 0.77–0.92 for the PRC and NRC dimensions, respectively. Furthermore, NRC was associated with poorer mental health, greater depressive symptom severity and suicidality, and impaired HRQoL. In patients with LTCs, PRC correlated with lower perceived illness timeline, while NRC was associated with greater perceived illness consequences, lower perceived treatment control, greater illness concern, and lower illness comprehensibility. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the Greek-Orthodox B-RCOPE version may reliably assess religious coping. In addition, negative religious coping (i.e., religious struggle) is associated with adverse illness perceptions, and thus may detrimentally impact adaptation to medical illness. These findings deserve replication in prospective studies

Pharmacological Treatment of Neuropathic Cancer Pain: A Comprehensive Review of the Current Literature

Neuropathic cancer pain (NCP), commonly encountered in clinical practice, may be cancer-related, namely resulting from nervous system tumor invasion, surgical nerve damage during tumor removal, radiation-induced nerve damage and chemotherapy-related neuropathy, or may be of benign origin, unrelated to cancer. A neuropathic component is evident in about 1/3 of cancer pain cases. Although from a pathophysiological perspective NCP may differ from chronic neuropathic pain (NP), such as noncancer-related pain, clinical practice, and limited publications have shown that these two pain entities may share some treatment modalities. For example, co-analgesics have been well integrated into cancer pain-management strategies and are often used as First-Line options for the treatment of NCP. These drugs, including antidepressants and anticonvulsants, are recommended by evidence-based guidelines, whereas, others such as lidocaine patch 5%, are supported by randomized, controlled, clinical data and are included in guidelines for restricted conditions treatment. The vast majority of these drugs have already been proven useful in the management of benign NP syndromes. Treatment decisions for patients with NP can be difficult. The intrinsic difficulties in performing randomized controlled trials in cancer pain have traditionally justified the acceptance of drugs already known to be effective in benign NP for the management of malignant NP, despite the lack of relevant high quality data. Interest in NCP mechanisms and pharmacotherapy has increased, resulting in significant mechanism-based treatment advances for the future. In this comprehensive review, we present the latest knowledge regarding NCP pharmacological management. © 2011 The Authors. Pain Practice © 2011 World Institute of Pain

Nifekalant Versus Amiodarone in the Treatment of Cardiac Arrest: an Experimental Study in a Swine Model of Prolonged Ventricular Fibrillation

Purpose: The purpose of the experiment was to compare the effects of nifekalant and amiodarone on the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC), survival, as well as on the hemodynamic parameters in a swine model of prolonged ventricular fibrillation (VF). Methods: After 8 min of untreated VF, bolus doses of epinephrine (adrenaline) and either nifekalant, or amiodarone, or saline (n = 10 per group), were administered after randomization. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was commenced immediately after drug administration and defibrillation was attempted 2 min later. CPR was resumed for another 2 min after each defibrillation attempt and the same dose of adrenaline was given every 4th minute during CPR. Results: Forty-eight hour survival was significantly higher with nifekalant compared to amiodarone (p < 0.001) and saline (p = 0.02), (9/10 vs. 0/10 vs. 3/10, respectively). Systolic aortic pressure, diastolic aortic pressure and coronary perfusion pressure were significantly higher with nifekalant during CPR and immediate post-resuscitation period (p < 0.05). The animals in the amiodarone group had a slower heart rate at the 1st and 45th min post-ROSC (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively). The number of electric shocks required for terminating VF, time to ROSC and adrenaline dose were significantly higher with amiodarone compared to nifekalant (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Nifekalant showed a more favorable hemodynamic profile and improved survival compared to amiodarone and saline in this swine model. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York

Validation of the Greek Version of the DN4 Diagnostic Questionnaire for Neuropathic Pain

Background: The Douleur Neuropathique 4 questionnaire (DN4) was developed by the French Neuropathic Pain Group and is a simple and objective tool, primarily designed to screen for neuropathic pain. The aim of our study is to validate the DN4 in the Greek language. Methods: The study was set up as a prospective observational study. Two pain specialists independently examined patients and diagnosed them with neuropathic, nociceptive, or mixed pain, according to the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) definitions. A third and a fourth physician administered the DN4 questionnaire to the patients. Results: Out of the 237 patients who met our inclusion criteria and had identical diagnoses regarding the type of pain, 123 were diagnosed with neuropathic, 59 with nociceptive, and 55 with mixed pain. Among patients with identical diagnoses of neuropathic or nociceptive pain, using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.92. A cutoff point of equal or greater than 4 resulted in a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 78%. Among patients suffering from pain with neuropathic element (neuropathic or mixed pain) or pain with no neuropathic element (nociceptive pain), using a ROC curve analysis, the AUC was 0.89. A cutoff point of equal or greater than 4 resulted in a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 78%. Conclusion: The Greek version of DN4 is a valid tool for discriminating between neuropathic and nociceptive pain conditions in daily practice. © 2015 World Institute of Pain

Correlation of Impedance Threshold Device use during cardiopulmonary resuscitation with post-cardiac arrest Acute Kidney Injury

Purpose To assess whether use of Impedance Threshold Device (ITD) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) reduces the degree of post-cardiac arrest Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), as a result of improved hemodynamics, in a porcine model of ventricular fibrillation (VF) cardiac arrest. Methods After 8 min of untreated cardiac arrest, the animals were resuscitated either with active compression-decompression (ACD) CPR plus a sham ITD (control group, n = 8) or with ACD-CPR plus an active ITD (ITD group, n = 8). Adrenaline was administered every 4 min and electrical defibrillation was attempted every 2 min until return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) or asystole. After ROSC the animals were monitored for 6 h under general anesthesia and then returned to their cages for a 48 h observation, before euthanasia. Two novel biomarkers, Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin (NGAL) in plasma and Interleukin-18 (IL-18) in urine, were measured at 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, 24 h and 48 h post-ROSC, in order to assess the degree of AKI. Results ROSC was observed in 7 (87.5%) animals treated with the sham valve and 8 (100%) animals treated with the active valve (P = NS). However, more than twice as many animals survived at 48 h in the ITD group (n = 8, 100%) compared to the control group (n = 3, 37.5%). Urine IL-18 and plasma NGAL levels were augmented post-ROSC in both groups, but they were significantly higher in the control group compared with the ITD group, at all measured time points. Conclusion Use of ITD during ACD-CPR improved hemodynamic parameters, increased 48 h survival and decreased the degree of post-cardiac arrest AKI in the resuscitated animals. © 2017 Elsevier Inc

Avaliação do efeito antinociceptivo do fentanil transdérmico no controle da dor lombar pós-operatória Evaluación del efecto antinociceptivo del fentanil transdérmico en el control del dolor lumbar postoperatorio Efficacy of fentanyl transdermal delivery system for acute postoperative pain after posterior laminectomy

OBJETIVO: pacientes submetidos à laminectomia por via posterior geralmente reclamam de dor severa. A aplicação por via transdérmica de fentanil resulta em sua liberação contínua e poderia ser útil no controle da dor. Este estudo visou avaliar a eficácia do fentanil (F) transdérmico em dor aguda pós-operatória secundária à laminectomia por via posterior. MÉTODOS: após aprovação do Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa e consentimento adquirido, 24 pacientes foram distribuídos de forma aleatória e duplamente encoberta em dois grupos, sendo que 12 pacientes receberam o adesivo de F transdérmico (25 mcg/h) e outros 12 receberam o adesivo placebo. Todos os pacientes foram submetidos à laminectomia posterior, sob anestesia geral padronizada. Os adesivos transdérmicos foram colocados nos pacientes dez horas antes do início da cirurgia e removidos 24 horas após o término dessa. Cetoprofeno por via venosa foi administrado no início da cirurgia, dipirona estava disponível para analgesia de resgate, se necessário, a intervalos mínimos de seis horas. RESULTADOS: os pacientes que receberam F transdérmico apresentaram redução de 60% no consumo de dipirona no período pós-operatório (p<0,05); e menor VAS para dor após a 12ª hora, o que se manteve até a 36ª hora de avaliação (p<0,02). Os parâmetros fisiológicos variaram dentro dos limites de normalidade e foram semelhantes entre os grupos. A incidência de efeitos adversos foi similar entre os grupos, sendo constatado apenas eritema local no Grupo F transdérmico (30 versus 5%, p<0,05). CONCLUSÃO: o adesivo transdérmico de F associado ao cetoprofeno foi efetivo em controlar a dor pós-operatória após laminectomia por via posterior, com tolerância e segurança semelhante ao Grupo Placebo.<br>OBJETIVO: pacientes sometidos a laminectomía por vía posterior generalmente reclaman de dolor severo. La aplicación por vía transdérmica de fentanil resulta en su liberación continua y podría ser útil en el control del dolor. Este estudio visó evaluar la eficacia del fentanil (F) transdérmico en el dolor agudo postoperatorio, secundario a la laminectomía por vía posterior. MÉTODOS: después de la aprobación por el Comité de Ética en investigación y consentimiento adquirido, 24 pacientes fueron distribuidos de forma aleatoria y duplamente ciegos en dos grupos, siendo que 12 pacientes recibieron el adhesivo de F transdérmico (25 mcg/h) y 12 pacientes recibieron el adhesivo de placebo. Todos los pacientes fueron sometidos a la laminectomía posterior sobre anestesia general estandarizada. Los adhesivos transdérmicos fueron colocados en los pacientes diez horas antes del inicio de la cirugía y removidos 24 horas después de haber terminado la misma. Cetoprofeno por vía venosa fue administrado por vía venosa en el inicio de la cirugía. Dipirona estaba disponible para analgesia de rescate, si era necesario, a intervalos mínimos de seis horas. RESULTADOS: los pacientes que recibieron F transdérmico presentaron reducción de 60% en el consumo de dipirona en el periodo postoperatorio (p<0,05); y menor VAS para dolor después de la 12ª hora, lo que se mantuvo hasta la 36ª hora de evaluación (p<0,02). Los parámetros fisiológicos variaron dentro de los límites de normalidad y fueron semejantes entre los grupos. La incidencia de efectos adversos fue similar entre los grupos, siendo constatado únicamente eritema local en el Grupo F transdérmico (30 versus 5%, p<0,05). CONCLUSIÓN: el adhesivo transdérmico de F asociado al cetoprofeno fue efectivo en controlar el dolor postoperatorio después de la laminectomía por vía posterior, con tolerancia y seguridad semejante al Grupo Placebo.<br>Objectives: patients who are submitted to posterior laminectomy often complain of severe pain that is difficult to treat. The transdermal application of the potent opioid fentanyl results in its continuous liberation and consequently could be useful in controlling the pain. This study evaluated the efficacy of transdermal fentanyl (F) delivery system for acute postoperative pain after posterior laminectomy. METHODS: the study was approved by the local Ethic Committee and conducted in the Teaching Hospital. After the patient's consent, 24 patients were randomized to either transdermic F 25 mg/h (n=12) or transdermic placebo (n=12). All patients were submitted to posterior laminectomy under a standard general anesthesia. Transdermic systems were placed during 10 hours preoperatively and removed 24 hours later; 20 minute IV ketoprofen, 2.5 mg/kg was administered following traqueal intubation with propofol, alfentanil and atracurium. IV 20 mg/kg dipyrone act as rescue at a minimum six hours interval. Data was recorded for 36 hours. RESULTS: the transdermic F Group showed 60% of reduction in the rescue dipyrone consumption (p<0.05); and displayed lesser VAS scores after the 12th hour, which was maintained until the 36th hour (p<0.02). All physiological parameters fluctuated within normal range and no differences were observed between the treatments. The incidence of adverse events was similar between the groups, there was local erythema in the transdermic F (30 versus 5%, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: transdermic F combined with IV ketoprofen was effective in controlling postoperative pain after posterior laminectomy. Additionally, the safety and tolerability of this regimen were similar to the Placebo Grou