Der Schmerz
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Chronic pain affects all aspects of human life, which raises spiritual questions that should be included within the framework of multimodal care. ⋯ Finding strategies for effectively dealing with chronic pain represents a turning point in life. Open discussion with health care professionals that allow for spiritual issues facilitates this process.
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Observational Study
[What became of Prialt®? : Observational study on the use of ziconotide in the treatment of chronic pain].
Prialt® was approved by the European Medicine Agency in February 2005. Besides morphine, it is the only analgesic approved for long-term intrathecal infusion in the treatment of chronic pain. As it does not bind to opioid receptors, its use in the treatment of chronic pain seemed to be safer and to lead to less adverse events compared with morphine. However, it is an orphan drug and studies of its long-term use are rare. ⋯ Ziconotide was used at the Jena University Hospital according to the latest guidelines. Nevertheless, morphine and other opioid analgesics are still more frequently used in the intrathecal management of chronic pain. There are various reasons for this, but the narrow therapeutic index, the high incidence of adverse events, and the difficulties in finding the right dose are among the most important.
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Editorial Comment
[Michael Pfingsten leaves the ship: translation as a living process].