Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Benzhydrocodone is a hydrocodone prodrug that has been combined with acetaminophen (APAP) in a novel immediate-release analgesic. This study evaluated the relative bioavailability, intranasal abuse potential, and safety of benzhydrocodone/APAP compared with commercially available hydrocodone bitartrate (HB)/APAP. ⋯ Reduced hydrocodone exposure and drug liking at early time intervals, coupled with adverse nasal effects, can be expected to provide a level of deterrence to the intranasal route of abuse for benzhydrocodone/APAP.
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This study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of a once-daily, single-entity, extended-release hydrocodone bitartrate (HYD) among patients with chronic noncancer and non-neuropathic pain who required opioid rotation from a previous analgesic regimen that primarily consisted of immediate-release (IR) oxycodone. ⋯ In patients with chronic pain who received HYD over a 52-week period, treatment was generally well tolerated and provided effective analgesia among those who rotated from a pain regimen primarily consisting of IR oxycodone.
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The current US opioid epidemic is attributed to the large volume of prescribed opioids. This study analyzed the contribution of different medical specialties to overall opioids by evaluating the pill counts and morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) of opioid prescriptions, stratified by provider specialty, and determined temporal trends. ⋯ The numbers of pills and MMEs per opioid prescription vary markedly by prescriber specialty, as do trends in prescribing characteristics. Pill count and MME values define each specialty's contribution to overall opioid prescribing more accurately than the number of prescriptions alone.
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This study investigated the efficacy of vibration technology for women with hand pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) to see if mild compression and small vibrating motors were beneficial with periodic use. ⋯ Overall, the results demonstrated that the vibrating gloves were moderately helpful in reducing hand pain in women with OA (53.5%), and most expressed willingness to use the gloves (71.4%) and use the pain app (55.8%) in the future. Additional studies to determine the mechanism of action of the gloves in managing pain would be recommended.
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It is acknowledged that the way patients cope with pain may influence treatment outcome. In particular, psychological factors are deemed important when considering patients for suitability for spinal cord stimulation (SCS). ⋯ The findings of this study support the value of a multidisciplinary screening. Addressing psychological issues before SCS implantation can reduce the failure rate of SCS.