Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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There are many external influences in today's market force that impair the relationship between the pain medicine specialist and the patient, and ultimately prevent optimal quality of care. This article explores the ethical challenges facing the pain medicine specialist in today's increasingly "business" environment and will offer solutions for maintaining the professionalism of pain medicine. ⋯ Solutions offered include collegial associations, social responsibility, legislative initiatives, pain education, interdisciplinary evaluation and treatment, improved relationships with third-party payers, reduced racial disparities, and ethics education. Ethics is the "roadmap" that enables the pain medicine specialist to navigate the increasingly murky waters of practicing pain management today by maintaining the professionalism necessary to combat today's "business" pressures.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Low-dose sublingual ketamine does not modulate experimentally induced mechanical hyperalgesia in healthy subjects.
Musculoskeletal pain has been associated with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor-mediated mechanisms. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) investigated the effect of the NMDA receptor antagonist ketamine (25 mg sublingually) on modulating experimental muscle pain. ⋯ In comparison with placebo, a single low-dose sublingual pharmacological intervention targeting the processes of sensitization via antagonism of NMDA receptors did not modulate the effects of acute experimentally induced mechanical hyperalgesia, suggesting a higher dose or repeat doses may be required.
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The objective of this study was to determine if there is consistent evidence for smoking to be considered a red flag for development of opioid dependence during opioid exposure in patients with pain and chronic pain patients (CPPs). ⋯ There is limited consistent indirect evidence that smoking status in patients with pain and CPPs is associated with alcohol-drug and opioid dependence. Smoking status could be a red flag for opioid-dependence development on opioid exposure.
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We examined chronic pain management practices and confidence and satisfaction levels in treating chronic pain among primary care providers (PCPs) who cared for high-risk patients in safety net health settings. ⋯ In order to improve PCPs' confidence and satisfaction in managing chronic pain, further work should explore the root causes of low confidence and satisfaction and also explore possible remedies.
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The criterion commonly used to determine whether radiofrequency neurotomy may be recommended is based on patient-reported, short-term pain relief following facet block injections. This study evaluated the concordance between two commonly used outcomes for pain relief: the pain numerical rating scale (NRS) and the global perceived improvement (GPI) scale. ⋯ Asking patients about their pain relief in retrospect can be misleading. It is possible that patients' report on the GPI is weighed by their total experience of pain reduction and retrospective recall. Therefore, when choosing to address percent improvement on NRS measures, it is important to take into account multiple instances of NRS measures following treatment.