Pain management
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India has a high prevalence of chronic disorders which may be associated with persistent pain. Despite the availability of multiple treatment options, chronic pain is largely untreated and contributes to disability and mortality. ⋯ Although multiple amendments to the act have ensured ease of opioid access for medicinal purposes, concerns such as lack of awareness and prescribing practices and attitudes of physicians/patients still need to be addressed. This review aims to identify these barriers and suggest recommendations to overcome them.
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Cancer is a major public health issue. Poor pain management has devastating consequences that seriously affect quality of life, diminish functionality and place a huge emotional burden on patients and their relatives. ⋯ The guidelines make recommendations on tailoring treatment to the specific type of pain and provide local physicians with the state-of-the art findings in the field. Management should be with pharmacological approaches (nonopioid, adjuvant and opioid analgesics, as well as oncologic therapies and interventional procedures) and nonpharmacological approaches.