The Medical clinics of North America
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Opioids are extensively used in the management of all types of pain and their use is underpinned by extensive trial evidence and an abundance of practical experience. We are still amassing insight into how they achieve their pain-relieving effects, however, and this understanding becomes more complex as time progresses and shows that opioids are medications with complex and diverse central and peripheral nervous system effects. Despite the 200 years that have passed since the chemical isolation of morphine, every year brings new understanding of the mode of action, propensity to cause side effects, and appropriate clinical use of opioids. This article concentrates on this "new" evidence as disclosed by recent publications.
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Med. Clin. North Am. · Mar 2007
ReviewDocumentation and potential tools in long-term opioid therapy for pain.
The field of pain medicine is experiencing increased pressure from regulatory agencies and other sources regarding the continuation, or even initial use, of opioids in pain patients. Therefore, it is essential that pain clinicians provide rationale for engaging in this modality of treatment and provide ample documentation in this regard. Thus, assessment and documentation are cornerstones for both protecting your practice and obtaining optimal patient outcomes while on opioid therapy. Several potential tools and documentation strategies re discussed that will aid clinicians in providing evidence for the continuation of this type of treatment for their patients.