Potassium and Calcium Channels
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK K channels are present in all the cells and maintain resting membrane potentials. Closing of K channel leads to depolarisation….
Assessment of Pain in Elderly
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK Life expectancy is increasing and people are living longer. At the same time, the incidence of persistent pain is increasing….
Neuropathic Pain
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK IASP defines neuropathic pain as “pain caused by lesion or disease of the somatosensory system”. Neuropathic pain comprises pain, paraesthesia…
Pain Pathway
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK The pathway can be divided into peripheral and central. Peripheral pathways are the first point of contact for the painful…
Pain Assessment in Paediatrics
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK Pain assessment in children is difficult. Pain is a subjective experience, and children may not be able to provide adequate…
Assessment of Neuropathic Pain
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK Neuropathic pain is the pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system (IASP definition). The challenge…
Psychological Assessment of Chronic Pain
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK Assessment of chronic pain is not as straightforward as acute pain as patients often have accompanying anxiety and depression. They…
Pain Processing
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK 3.1 Peripheral Mechanisms The activation of nociceptors depends on the magnitude of the stimuli. A stimulus larger than the threshold…
Assessment and Measurement of Acute Pain
(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK Assessment of acute pain includes appropriate pain history and evaluation with regard to different aspects of pain including functional impairment….
