Psychiatric disease

My patient with chronic pain complains of difficulty sleeping. Would improving her sleep hygiene impact her pain medication requirement?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , , , , Leave a comment

Most likely!

We should routinely assess for poor sleep as a potential impediment to adequate pain control in our patients. Substantial research supports a bidirectional relationship between pain and sleep.  That is, not only can pain disrupt sleep but sleep quality can also adversely affect pain.1   In fact, even a short-term disturbance in a stable sleep pattern may lower the pain threshold 2 and the ability to tolerate previously controlled pain.3

These observations are thought to result from activated stress responses from poor sleep hygiene which in turn produce cellular oxidative stress and inflammation of tissues and the nervous system. 4 This process can result in a vicious cycle between increasing pain and persistent insomnia.4,5  Breaking this cycle can reduce pain and improve function, among other desired outcomes.

Ongoing insomnia may also be a sign of a variety of other conditions that should be treated, such as mood disorder and sleep apnea. For example, besides standard non-pharmaceutical measures to improve sleep hygiene, continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) can reduce pain and opioid use in the setting of sleep apnea .2,6

Remember also that controlling pain with opioids in hopes of improving sleep may be counterproductive as opioids can contribute to sleep apnea.7,8  Melatonin may be a better sleep aid in this setting. 9

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References

  1. Wei Y, Blanken TF, Van Someren EJW. Insomnia really hurts: effect of a bad night’s sleep on pain increases with insomnia severity. Front Psychiatry 2018;9:377. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00377. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30210367
  2. Charokopos A, Card ME, Gunderson C, Steffens C, Bastian LA. The association of obstructive sleep apnea and pain outcomes in adults: a systematic review. Pain Med 2018;19(suppl_1):S69-S75. doi: 10.1093/pm/pny140. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30203008
  3. Sivertsen B, Lallukka T, Petrie KJ, et al. Sleep and pain sensitivity in adults. Pain. 2015;156:1433-9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25915149
  4. Iacovides S, George K, Kamerman P, Baker FC. Sleep fragmentation hypersensitizes healthy young women to deep and superficial experimental pain. J Pain. 2017;18:844-854. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2017.02.436. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28300651
  5. Edwards RR, Almeida DM, Klick B, Haythornthwaite JA, Smith MT. Duration of sleep contributes to next-day pain report in the general population. Pain. 2008;137:202-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2008.01.025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18434020
  6. Edwards RR, Almeida DM, Klick B, Haythornthwaite JA, Smith MT. Duration of sleep contributes to next-day pain report in the general population. Pain. 2008 Jul;137(1):202-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pain.2008.01.025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18434020
  7. Marshansky S, Mayer P, Rizzo D, Baltzan M, Denis R, Lavigne GJ. Sleep, chronic pain, and opioid risk for apnea. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018 20;87:234-244. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28734941
  8. Jungquist CR, Flannery M, Perlis ML, Grace JT. Relationship of chronic pain and opioid use with respiratory disturbance during sleep. Pain Manag Nurs 2012;13:70-9. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2010.04.003. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22652280
  9. Landis CA. Is melatonin the next “new” therapy to improve sleep and reduce pain? Sleep 2014; 37: 1405–1406. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4153056/

Contributed by Paul Arnstein, PhD, RN, FAAN, Mass General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Disclosures: The listed questions and answers are solely the responsibility of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of Mercy Hospital-St. Louis or its affiliate healthcare centers, Mass General Hospital, Harvard Medical School or its affiliated institutions. Although every effort has been made to provide accurate information, the author is far from being perfect. The reader is urged to verify the content of the material with other sources as deemed appropriate and exercise clinical judgment in the interpretation and application of the information provided herein. No responsibility for an adverse outcome or guarantees for a favorable clinical result is assumed by the author. Thank you!

 

My patient with chronic pain complains of difficulty sleeping. Would improving her sleep hygiene impact her pain medication requirement?

Why do patients with anorexia nervosa often experience bradycardia?

FA Manian MD, MPH, , Leave a comment

Cardiac complications are common in anorexia nervosa (AN), with sinus bradycardia occurring in up to 95% of patients1,2. The mechanism of bradycardia in AN has yet to be clearly elucidated.

The predominant hypothesis posits that bradycardia is due to an increased cardiac vagal tone3,4, with a direct relationship observed between vagal tone and percent weight loss4. Additionally, sympathetic response may be altered through down-regulation of cardiac beta-adrenoceptors5. The physiologic response of lowering the resting heart rate through an increase in parasympathetic activity and sympathetic down-regulation leads to energy conservation in the fasting state of AN.

Current guidelines recommend that patients with AN and “severe” sinus bradycardia—defined as heart rate <50 beats/min during the day or <45 beats/min at night—should be admitted to the hospital for cardiac monitoring and gradual weight gain6. Fortunately, bradycardia associated with AN is reversible with weight gain7,8.

 

References

  1. Portilla MG. Bradycardia: an important physical finding in anorexia nervosa. J Ark Med Soc 2011;107:206-208. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21739848
  2. Katzman DK. Medical complications in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: a review of the literature. Int J Eat Dis 2005; 37:S52-S59. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/eat.20118
  3. Petretta M, et al. Heart rate variability as a measure of autonomic nervous system function in anorexia nervosa. Clin Card 1997; 20: 219-224. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9068906
  4. Kollai M., et al. Cardiac vagal hyperactivity in adolescent anorexia nervosa. Eur Heart J 1994;15:1113-1118. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7988604
  5. Kaye WH, et al. Isoproterenol infusion test in anorexia nervosa: Assessment of pre-and post-beta-noradrenergic receptor activity. Psychopharm Bull 1990.
  6. Golden NH, et al. Eating disorders in adolescents. J Adolesc Health 2003;33: 496-503. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14642712
  7. Gottdiener JS, et al. Effects of self-induced starvation on cardiac size and function in anorexia nervosa. Circulation 1978;58: 425-433. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/679432
  8. Olivares JL, et al. Cardiac findings in adolescents with anorexia nervosa at diagnosis and after weight restoration. Eur J Pediatrics 2005;164:383-386. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15909184

 

Contributed by Marissa K Shoji, Medical Student, Harvard Medical School

Why do patients with anorexia nervosa often experience bradycardia?