Regional anesthesia and pain medicine
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Retrospective cohort study of healthcare utilization and opioid use following radiofrequency ablation for chronic axial spine pain in Ontario, Canada.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a common treatment modality for chronic axial spine pain. Controversy exists over its effectiveness, and outcomes in a real-world setting have not been evaluated despite increasing use of RFA. This study examined changes in healthcare utilization and opioid use after RFA in Ontario, Canada. ⋯ Healthcare utilization was significantly reduced in the 12 months following RFA, and some patients eliminated opioid use. Selection criteria for RFA are not standardized in Ontario, and appropriate use guidelines for spine interventions may improve outcomes and reduce unnecessary procedures.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Intravenous meloxicam for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain: a pooled analysis of safety and opioid-reducing effects.
To describe the safety and tolerability of intravenous meloxicam compared with placebo across all phase II/III clinical trials. ⋯ Intravenous meloxicam was generally well tolerated in subjects with moderate to severe postoperative pain.
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Reg Anesth Pain Med · Mar 2019
Spinal cord stimulator education during pain fellowship: unmet training needs and factors that impact future practice.
With a growing need for non-opioid chronic pain treatments, pain physicians should understand the proper utilization of neuromodulation therapies to provide the most comprehensive care. We aimed to identify the unmet training needs that deter physicians from using spinal cord stimulation (SCS) devices. ⋯ While SCS training during pain fellowship has become more universal, the experiences that fellows receive are highly variable, and most rely on industry-sponsored programs to supplement training deficiencies. Standardization of SCS procedures may also enable less experienced providers to navigate the SCS treatment algorithm.