Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Nabilone as an adjunctive to gabapentin for multiple sclerosis-induced neuropathic pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Neuropathic pain (NPP) is a chronic syndrome suffered by patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), for which there is no cure. Underlying cellular mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis are multifaceted, presenting significant challenges in its management. ⋯ Nabilone as an adjunctive to GBP is an effective, well-tolerated combination for MS-induced NPP. The results of this study identify a novel therapeutic combination for use in this population of patients predisposed to tolerability issues that may otherwise prevent effective pain management.
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Abuse of prescription opioid pain relievers continues to be a serious public health concern. In contrast to opioids such as oxycodone or morphine, tapentadol, a prescription analgesic, has two mechanisms of action: μ-opioid receptor agonism and norepinephrine reuptake inhibition. As a result of differences in its receptor pharmacology, there may be differences in its abuse profile. As an initial step toward testing this hypothesis, we present a postmarketing examination of tapentadol's abuse liability relative to comparators. ⋯ Tapentadol abuse was seen infrequently in this study and, on a prescription basis, was less likely to be abused than most of the examined Schedule II analgesics.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Cervical transforaminal epidural block using low-dose local anesthetic: a prospective, randomized, double-blind study.
Intra-arterial injections of local anesthetic during cervical transforaminal epidural block (TFEB) can cause rare but fatal neurologic complications. We hypothesized that using a dose of local anesthetic lower than seizure threshold during cervical TFEB would not be associated with seizure activity in cases of accidental intra-arterial injection. ⋯ Cervical TFEB performed using 0.125% lidocaine with dexamethasone achieved similar satisfactory effects as 1% lidocaine with dexamethasone for the treatment of cervical radicular pain. Therefore, the use of low-dose lidocaine with dexamethasone is reasonable for cervical TFEB, as this may reduce the incidence of rare but fatal complications.