Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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To report the health care experiences of 34 individuals with coexisting substance use disorder (SUD) and chronic pain. ⋯ Coexisting chronic pain and SUD create unique health care needs by mutually activating and potentiating the other. There are very few comparable studies exploring the experiences of individuals when pain and SUD coexist. The health care team can better develop treatment plans and test interventions sensitive to their unique needs when they understand the experiences of this population.
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A migraine is a common neurological disorder that often coexists with other illnesses including heart abnormalities, such as patent foramen ovale (PFO), atrial septal aneurysm (ASA), and mitral valve prolapse (MVP). ⋯ The results of our study raise the question of the heart's role in the mechanism of migraine attacks. If the occurrence of migraine with aura had been related to some heart abnormalities, the pathophysiology of migraine attacks may have some connection to some heart dysfunction. Resolving the association between migraine and comorbid cardiac conditions might shed light on the underlying mechanisms of migraines and even result in a different treatment strategy. However, we do not find any clear connection between PFP, ASA, and MVP, and migraine occurrence.
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Opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) is a life-threatening complication of opioid therapy in children. Naloxone administration triggered by OIRD has been used to monitor safety of opioid therapy in adults. We used this trigger as a quality measure of opioid safety in hospitalized children to identify risk predictors of OIRD. ⋯ OIRD is an important, albeit mostly preventable, complication of opioid therapy in children. Naloxone use can be used as a measure to track opioid safety in children, identify contributing factors, and formulate preventive strategies to reduce the risk for OIRD.
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The aims of this study were to develop and implement an interdisciplinary pain program integrated in primary care to address stakeholder-identified gaps. ⋯ Our PDSA cycle engaged an interprofessional group of stakeholders that recommended introduction of new systems-based interventions to better integrate pain resources into primary care to address reported barriers. Early data suggest improved outcomes; examination of additional outcomes is planned.
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The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence and impact of prescription opioid abuse and tampering among US adults. ⋯ Tampering with opioid medications to get high is associated with substantial loss of productivity and health care use. Technologies that reduce users' ability to tamper may reduce the burden of opioid abuse on the health care system.