Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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The challenges of moving the pain education agenda forward are significant worldwide, and resources, including online, are needed to help educators in curriculum development. Online resources are available but with insufficient evaluation in the context of prelicensure pain education. Therefore, this pre-post study examined the impact of an innovative eLearning model: the Pain Education Interprofessional Resource (PEIR) on usability, pain knowledge, beliefs, and understanding of pain assessment skills including empathy. ⋯ PEIR is an effective eLearning program with high student ratings for educational design and usability that significantly improved pain knowledge and understanding of collaborative care.
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Physically active individuals show greater conditioned pain modulation (CPM) compared with less active individuals. Understanding the effects of acute exercise on CPM may allow for a more targeted use of exercise in the management of pain. This study investigated the effects of acute isometric exercise on CPM. In addition, the between-session and within-session reliability of CPM was investigated. ⋯ Isometric exercise decreased CPM in individuals who reported systemic EIH, suggesting activation of shared mechanisms between CPM and systemic EIH responses. These results may improve the understanding of increased pain after exercise in patients with chronic pain and potentially attenuated CPM.
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Acute pain management in opioid-dependent persons is complicated because of tolerance and opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Very high doses of morphine are ineffective in overcoming opioid-induced hyperalgesia and providing antinociception to methadone-maintained patients in an experimental setting. Whether the same occurs in buprenorphine-maintained subjects is unknown. ⋯ Buprenorphine subjects, compared with controls, were hyperalgesic (cold pressor test), did not experience antinociception, despite high plasma morphine concentrations, and experienced respiratory depression. Clinical implications are discussed.
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To pilot test the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of instituting a 15-pill quantity default in the electronic health record for new Schedule II opioid prescriptions. ⋯ This pilot provides initial evidence that changing default settings can increase the number of prescriptions at the default level. This low-cost and relatively simple intervention could have an impact on opioid overprescribing. However, default settings should be selected carefully to avoid unintended consequences.