Der Schmerz
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On 31 December 2016, a total of 1206 physicians participated in the outpatient care of chronic pain patients according to the criteria of a special pain management program (QSV). Because of the largely existing shortage of treatment resources for chronic pain patients, there is a lack of data regarding the evaluation of outpatient pain management by highly specialized pain therapists. ⋯ Highly specialized pain therapists are dissatisfied because of the lack of independence of the organizational structure of pain management care and the insufficient interdisciplinary network in outpatient pain management. A possible solution for a better pain management care and the recruitment problems may be the establishment of a board certification for pain management.
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Radiofrequency denervation has been established for many years as an important minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of chronic pain conditions. Positive experiences of many users for various indications are contrasted by a nonuniform evidence. With meticulous patient selection and correct assessment of the indications a longer term reduction of pain, a reduced need for analgesics and an improvement in the quality of life can be achieved. ⋯ The summarized recommendations of the expert group are based on the available evidence and on the clinical experiences of Austrian centers that frequently implement the procedure. The position paper contains recommendations on patient selection and proven indications. We discribe safety aspects, complications, side effects and contraindications.
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Post-dural puncture headache belongs to the group of secondary headache disorders and is a typical complication of intended or unintended dural puncture. The main symptom is orthostatic headache, which can be accompanied by neurological symptoms such as diplopia depending on the extent of the cerebrospinal fluid leak. The course of this headache is predominantly benign, showing spontaneous improvement over a couple of days, although severe cases are described in the literature. The following article provides an overview of the current knowledge about the headache's pathophysiology, diagnostic work-up and therapy.
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Chronic pain in children and adolescents is increasing in prevalence, affects the quality of life, predisposes to pain in adulthood and causes numerous contacts to the healthcare system. In contrast, the number of therapeutic offers tailored to the special needs of this age group is insufficient and confusing. The working group on pain in children and adolescents of the German Pain Society therefore documented appropriate facilities in a questionnaire survey carried out using a snowball system. ⋯ Thus, the results may not be entirely representative. Nevertheless, the heterogeneity of the offers and in total an undersupply became very clear. In order to improve the care situation, joint efforts by the various pediatric subdisciplines dealing with pain, an increase in the number of child pain treatment centers and a better networking are necessary.