Assessing and measuring post-operative pain in all animals is a challenge, but doing it in small mammals, for example guinea pigs, presents an even larger difficulty. Validated pain scales developed for use in dogs in clinical practice are currently available, but no such scale has been widely accepted for use in guinea pigs in the veterinary setting. In this experimental study, six guinea pigs that had undergone surgery and anaesthesia were observed for behavioural changes that could be associated with pain. The six guinea pigs were also given pain scores with the use of Colorado State University Feline Acute Pain Scale (CSU-APSF), a scale which uses both behaviour when not handled, body tension and response to palpation to evaluate pain intensity. The six guinea pigs showed a number of different behaviours, for example rigid posture, fixed stare and ?wet dog response? (the body is vigourosly shaken), that could be associated with pain.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to examine to what extent documentation of pain assessment with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) on patients with pain problems was carried out. The study also explored how the documentation followed the existing guidelines of pain. The material was analyzed with descriptive statistics and a qualitative content analysis. The results shows that 43,24 % of total 37 analyzed patient records contained documentation of pain with VAS on the day of hospitalization. All studied journals contained documentation of pain.

One of the bigger national diseases that belongs to the field of rheumatology is rheumatoid arthritis and it is three to four times more usual among women. The purpose of this study was to describe female patients' experience of living with rheumatoid arthritis. The method, was a review of the literature with eight articles accomplished the criteria for scientific quality done in the accordance to Polit, Beck & Hungler (2001) and are the bases to the conclusions of this study. The result shows five main themes and ten sub themes that illuminate the female patient's experience of living with rheumatoid arthritis. The main themes are: a) the pain, b) the development, c) the relation, d) the well-being and e) the future.

AbstractPain among patients in their final stage of life is a commonly occurring problem. Results fromthe Swedish Register of Palliative Care (SRPC) indicate that validated instruments forassessing pain are rarely used. Nurses' insufficient knowledge of pain and pain treatmentmethods may be a cause of maltreatment of patients who suffer from pain.The goal of this study was to determine whether training within the area of pain, painassessment and pain assessment instruments increases the use of validated pain assessmentinstruments utilized by nurses working in care homes for patients in the final stage of life inthe city of Uppsala.Method: A quantitative and quasi-experimental design was selected to perform the study.The intervention study that was used consisted of one training session where onequestionnaire was given before and one after the time of training. Register data were collectedfrom the SRPC given the question of pain assessment before and after the intervention.Results: The study showed that nurses more often used pain assessment instruments after thetraining session. The results also showed that nurses to a greater extent than before alternatedbetween the two validated pain assessment instruments that were introduced at the trainingsession.Conclusion: The results showed that when nurses at care homes are given training in the areaof pain and pain assessment they absorb and use the newly acquired knowledge in theirclinical work..

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness training in the treatment of chronic pain, estimate the degree of mindfulness before and after intervention, and to describe the participants experience of mindfulness training. Mindfulness is defined as moment to moment, non-judgmental awareness. After the treatment of chronic pain 16 patients were offered and nine agreed to participate in mindfulness training. The intervention group took part in an 8-week group-program. The comparison group, not randomized, was 16 former patients.

One of many difficult issues in veterinary medicine is the assessment of an animal's experience of pain. As a licensed veterinary nurse in Sweden you are obligated by law to work by the concept of evidence based medicine. To achieve this the author of this study sees the need for standardized methods of pain assessment. A Swedish version of Short form of the Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale (CMPS-SF) has recently been translated and developed. Furthermore, a psychometric validation needs to be performed to ensure its validity and reliability.

Elective joint surgery increases for every year and the operations are associated with postoperative pain. Postoperative pain is a well known phenomenon and pain physiology and analgesics are well known by caregivers, but the significance of the interaction between patient and caregiver is not illuminated. There are still patients experiencing unnecessary postoperative pain. Among patients in elective surgery, 25% runs a risk for underestimated pain. The aim of the study was to describe patient?s experiences of nursing interaction in the context of postoperative pain during hospitalisation after going through knee- or hiparthropasty.

Elective joint surgery increases for every year and the operations are associated with postoperative pain. Postoperative pain is a well known phenomenon and pain physiology and analgesics are well known by caregivers, but the significance of the interaction between patient and caregiver is not illuminated. There are still patients experiencing unnecessary postoperative pain. Among patients in elective surgery, 25% runs a risk for underestimated pain. The aim of the study was to describe patient?s experiences of nursing interaction in the context of postoperative pain during hospitalisation after going through knee- or hiparthropasty.

Background: Pain can be a constant problem in many older people's daily life, associated with particular physical and social disability, depression and poor quality of life. Dementia diseases are often associated with old age. Communication difficulties are one of the consequences of the disease, which clarifies the role of nursing staff in detecting and assessing pain. Objective: The aim was to compile knowledge about how nursing staff can identify pain in people with dementia. Method: A systematic literature review, where data were collected through manual and database searches.

 AbstractBackground: Among elderly people with dementia pain is a common problem. In older persons, particularly those suffering from dementia and cognitive impairment pain is often underdiagnosed and undertreated causing unnecessary pain, suffering and affect quality of life negatively. Dementia complicates the identification of pain when the natural ability to communicate decreases when a person is suffering from dementia. It is important that health professionals working with older persons with dementia are aware of the person?s pain expression.Aim: To clarify how older persons with dementia communicate pain expression.Method: To study this area a literature review was used.

The aim of this study was to investigate patients? experiences of pain during dental hygienist treatment and scaling. The study is based on a questionnaire and includes 129 patients, from four dental clinics in Skåne, Sweden. The questionnaire consisted of ten questions with a Visual Analogue Scale as a main question. Questions about age, gender and dental anxiety were also included.

The objective of this study was to assess validity and reliability for five different owner-completed instruments evaluated to assess chronic musculoskeletal pain in cats. All of the instruments were questionnaires, three asking about behavioral changes, one about the degree of pain and one about quality of life. One of the instruments was written originally in Swedish, the other four instruments were translated into Swedish before use. Data available were records from 57 cats with no signs of pain and 11 cats with different pain-related diagnoses. The diagnoses were ensured by clinical examination including palpation and manipulation of joints, gait testing on a force-plate and X-ray scans. Instrument 1 was completed by 57 pain-free and 11 pain-affected cats.

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to see if there was any correlation between BMI and chronic pain among participants who underwent a behavioural medicine rehabilitation program at a pain clinic in the central part of Sweden. Method: The study was conducted as a quantitative descriptive study context and has used medical records with documented data from the participants who were part of a pain clinic rehabilitation programs in the years 2004-2005. Altogether there were 76 participants in these years and excluded was nine participants with BMI measurements were not included in the documentation. Main Results: Regarding the relationship between BMI and chronic pain there was no significant relationships. Participants who completed the behavioural medicine rehabilitation program, however, showed a lower value of BMI and the estimated pain in VAS from the first to the third which is the last time of measuring.

Introduction: Breast pain, mastalgia, is a common problem for many women. The pain can cause so much concern that the woman seeks help in health care. The cause of concern is often that that the pain may be due to breast cancer. Women with mastalgia are referred for mammography to investigate the cause of the pain. Experience says that the mammography is mostly normal.Aim: The aim of the study was to get an overall picture of the results of the mammograms performed on Mammography SU / Sahlgrenska in 2011.

AbstractPurpose: The purpose of this study was to see if there was any correlation between BMI and chronic pain among participants who underwent a behavioural medicine rehabilitation program at a pain clinic in the central part of Sweden. Method: The study was conducted as a quantitative descriptive study context and has used medical records with documented data from the participants who were part of a pain clinic rehabilitation programs in the years 2004-2005. Altogether there were 76 participants in these years and excluded was nine participants with BMI measurements were not included in the documentation. Main Results: Regarding the relationship between BMI and chronic pain there was no significant relationships. Participants who completed the behavioural medicine rehabilitation program, however, showed a lower value of BMI and the estimated pain in VAS from the first to the third which is the last time of measuring.