Review Article
Animal Models and Behavioral Assessment for Chronic Pain Diseases
He Xiaolan,
Wang Qun,
Gu Nan,
Lu Yan*
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2026
Pages:
217-236
Received:
23 September 2026
Accepted:
5 October 2026
Published:
21 October 2026
Abstract: Chronic pain diseases (CPDs) affect approximately one in five adults worldwide, imposing a substantial socioeconomic burden and remaining a major unmet clinical need in pain medicine. Animal models of chronic pain are indispensable pre-clinical tools for dissecting the pathogenic mechanisms underlying diverse CPDs, screening novel analgesic candidates, and bridging fundamental laboratory discoveries and clinical pain management. An ideal experimental animal model should faithfully recapitulate the core clinical manifestations, pathological alterations, and persistent pain phenotypes observed in human CPD patients, while also enabling reproducible, standardized, and multidimensional behavioral assessment of pain hypersensitivity and spontaneous pain. Nevertheless, no single existing model can fully reproduce the full spectrum of clinical features of human CPDs, given the heterogeneous etiologies and complex biopsychosocial components of chronic pain. Therefore, investigators have to rationally select appropriate animal paradigms according to concrete scientific hypotheses and specific pain subtypes. This review systematically summarizes the detailed establishment workflows, typical pain?related behavioral phenotypes, major merits and inherent limitations, practical selection principles, as well as standardized behavioral evaluation approaches of widely-adopted animal models covering neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, cancer pain, visceral pain and musculoskeletal pain. It is expected to offer practical reference information for pain researchers to reasonably choose and properly apply chronic-pain animal models in pre-clinical pain investigations, and ultimately facilitate the translational success of therapeutic approaches including pharmaceutical agents and interventional therapeutic techniques.
Abstract: Chronic pain diseases (CPDs) affect approximately one in five adults worldwide, imposing a substantial socioeconomic burden and remaining a major unmet clinical need in pain medicine. Animal models of chronic pain are indispensable pre-clinical tools for dissecting the pathogenic mechanisms underlying diverse CPDs, screening novel analgesic candida...
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Review Article
Consensus Summary on the Clinical Application of
Patient-Controlled Analgesia for Pain Management in China
Shouzhang She,
Weifeng Yu*,
Yuguang Huang
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2026
Pages:
237-256
Received:
24 September 2026
Accepted:
8 October 2026
Published:
26 October 2026
Abstract: Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is a technique in which healthcare professionals preset the doses and administration parameters of analgesic drugs using a patient-controlled analgesic device according to the patient's pain intensity and physical condition, allowing patients to self-manage pain. PCA suppresses the stress and inflammatory responses caused by surgical trauma and nerve injury, reduces acute pain, alleviates the perioperative suffering of surgical patients, and accelerates postoperative recovery. The implementation of PCA requires specialized PCA pumps, which have undergone continual development and renewal over the past 30 years. With the rapid advancement of computer, network, and intelligent technologies in clinical medicine, China has developed an intelligent PCA (Ai-PCA) analgesic system, which has markedly improved the precision, reliability, and safety of pain management. However, challenges remain because of substantial individual differences in pain perception, the multiplicity of analgesic drug regimens, and suboptimal satisfaction with treatment outcomes. At the invitation of the Chinese Journal of Painology and led by the Anesthesiology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, experts in anesthesiology and pain medicine were convened to develop this Chinese expert consensus on clinical application practice guidelines for patient-controlled analgesia. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Chemical Abstracts (USA), Wanfang Database, CNKI, Chinese core journals, Chinese scientific and technological statistical source journals, and EBSCO academic databases, covering PCA technology, clinical application, and perioperative management, from database inception to March 1, 2024. The quality of evidence was graded using the numerical rating scale (NRS), the visual analogue scale (VAS), and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system into four levels (high, moderate, low, and very low), and the strength of recommendations was determined by repeated discussion and revision of the working group and voting of the expert committee via a questionnaire, with consensus categorized as very strong, strong, weak, not reached, or rejected. This consensus provides assessments and recommendations on PCA drug formulation protocols, clinical PCA setting modes, and the management of adverse reactions, covering intravenous PCA (PCIA), epidural PCA (PCEA), subcutaneous PCA (PCSA), Subarachnoid PCA (S-PCA), target-controlled infusion PCA (TCI-PCA), and peripheral nerve block combined with PCA for multimodal analgesia. It applies to pain management in adults but not in children and provides practical guidance for clinical physicians toward the standardized, individualized, and intelligent clinical application of PCA.
Abstract: Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) is a technique in which healthcare professionals preset the doses and administration parameters of analgesic drugs using a patient-controlled analgesic device according to the patient's pain intensity and physical condition, allowing patients to self-manage pain. PCA suppresses the stress and inflammatory response...
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Research/Technical Note
Chinese Expert Consensus on Ultrasound-Guided Myofascial Trigger Point Hydrodissection Technology
Jun Li,
Yongjun Zheng,
Lili Gu,
Shaofeng Pu,
Ya Shu,
Jun Zhang,
Lu Yang,
Shengxian Su,
Zhangxiang Huang,
Cunjv Bo,
Qingjuan Gong,
Dongping Du,
Li Song,
Dongyang Liu,
Xiuying Luo,
Baishan Wu,
Li Wan*
Issue:
Volume 2, Issue 4, December 2026
Pages:
257-278
Received:
26 September 2026
Accepted:
10 October 2026
Published:
29 October 2026
Abstract: This Chinese Expert Consensus, Addressing the Non‐standard Application of Ultrasound‐guided Myofascial Trigger Point (MTrP) Hydrodissection, Formulates Recommendations Using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Method. This Consensus Elaborates on Diagnostic Criteria for MTrP and Efficacy Evaluation, Including Requirements for Operator Qualifications, Training and Quality Control,etc. It Also Offers Detailed Guidance on Procedural Techniques and Solution Preparation for Hydrodissection on Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar and Gluteal MTrP, with Adverse Reactions and Treatments Sorted Out. This Expert Consensus Expected for Providing Technical Guidance to Clinicians.
Abstract: This Chinese Expert Consensus, Addressing the Non‐standard Application of Ultrasound‐guided Myofascial Trigger Point (MTrP) Hydrodissection, Formulates Recommendations Using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) Method. This Consensus Elaborates on Diagnostic Criteria for MTrP and Efficacy Evaluation, Includi...
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