Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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To quantitatively describe women's priorities for pain assessment and qualitatively explain unique features of women's pain experiences. ⋯ Priorities identified by women for the assessment of pain were largely consistent with expert recommendations; however, important differences were raised that merit consideration for clinicians to reduce stigma.
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Observational Study
Prescription Opioid Access Patterns and Factors Associated with Increasing Number of Prescribers, Pharmacies, and Dispensings: An Observational Study Using Pharmaceutical Claims.
To examine associations between patient factors and increasing opioid access measured by three metrics: number of unique prescribers, pharmacies, and dispensings in 12 months. ⋯ Delineating legitimate from extramedical opioid use based on pharmaceutical claims is imprecise. We demonstrated that "high" levels of access, defined in previous research, may reflect routine care for complex patients. Pharmaceutical claims have utility in examining population norms of prescription drug use and access patterns, and flagging persons at the extreme end of access, for at least one measure, who may warrant further investigation.
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Observational Study
A Survey of Physicians' Knowledge and Adherence to the Diagnostic Criteria for Fibromyalgia.
In 2010, Wolfe et al. demonstrated poor physician use of the 1990 fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria and proposed the 2010 criteria to address physician shortcomings. No follow-up studies have investigated whether physicians are using these criteria. The purpose of this study was to provide seminal data on physician knowledge and use of the fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria. ⋯ Physicians do not have adequate and homogenous knowledge of the fibromyalgia diagnostic criteria. Approximately half of physicians did not adhere to the criteria. Poor knowledge and adherence to the criteria may increase diagnosis delays and misdiagnoses. Knowledge translation strategies should be implemented to address this problem.
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This prospective, open-label study was designed to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of 10-kHz high-frequency spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in the treatment of chronic axial low back pain with no history of spinal surgery. ⋯ These results suggest that 10-kHz high-frequency SCS may provide significant, long-term back pain relief, improvement in disability and quality of life, and reduction in opioids for nonsurgical refractory back pain.
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To evaluate the safety of and long-term pain relief due to intravenous lidocaine infusion for the treatment of chronic pain in a tertiary pain management clinic. ⋯ Our retrospective study in a heterogeneous population with chronic pain suggests that intravenous lidocaine is a safe treatment. Data also suggest long-term pain relief in a significant proportion of patients. Additional study is important in order to delineate patient selection, determine optimal dosing and treatment frequency, assess pain reduction and duration, and treatment cost-effectiveness.