Current pain and headache reports
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Aug 2012
ReviewIntegrative oncology: managing cancer pain with complementary and alternative therapies.
For the projected 1,638,910 patients with a diagnosis of cancer this year, the great majority of them (75-90 %) will experience cancer-related pain. A growing number of these patients will turn to complementary and alternative therapies to assist with the management of their pain and other cancer-related symptoms. ⋯ Practitioners and researchers must be aware of the evidence that exists to support or refute the use of these therapies. In this manuscript we review evidence from the recent past on complementary and alternative therapies for pain with emphasis on more common modalities including acupuncture, bio-energy, massage, and music.
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Aug 2012
ReviewSpinal cord stimulation in the treatment of cancer-related pain: "back to the origins".
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been used in the treatment of chronic pain for more than 40 years. The most common indication for SCS in the USA is failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). Interestingly, the first two spinal cord stimulators ever implanted were in patients suffering from bronchogenic carcinoma and pelvic cancer, respectively. ⋯ An increasing number of people suffer from cancer-related pain each year and many receive suboptimal relief. Given the demonstrated value of spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of neuropathic pain, spinal cord stimulation should be considered "earlier" as an adjunct to the treatment of cancer-related pain. In addition, with the improving survival rates associated with advances in cancer treatment, spinal cord stimulation may help reduce the risk of development of chronic neuropathic pain in survivors.
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Headaches associated with papilledema may be both life-threatening as well as vision-threatening. This review will review the following clinical features: (1) the character of headaches associated with increased intracranial pressure; (2) the visual symptoms associated with papilledema; (3) the funduscopic findings of true papilledema versus pseudo-papilledema; (4) the role of ancillary ophthalmological testing such as visual fields and spectral domain optical coherence tomography; (5) the neuro-radiological evaluation of patients with headaches and papilledema; (6) the treatment of vision-threatening papilledema.
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Pain is prevalent, burdensome, and undertreated in individuals with cancer across the disease trajectory. Providing patients and family caregivers with psychosocial support and education to manage cancer pain is a core component of quality care that can result in significant clinical benefit. In this review, we: (1) outline an approach for developing and assessing the effectiveness of education programs for adults with cancer pain; (2) discuss considerations for tailoring programs to the needs of diverse populations and those with limited health literacy skills; (3) describe the resource needs and costs of developing a program; (4) highlight innovative approaches to cancer pain education. We conclude with recommendations for future research and the next generation of educational interventions.
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Regular assessment for the presence of pain and response to pain management strategies should be high priority in cancer patients. Pain is a multidimensional experience in cancer patients. Pain management will be most effective when treatments are individualized after exploring the various physical and non-physical components of pain, and the patient and family are educated and involved in decision making. This article discusses the various issues that are pertinent to the assessment of pain in cancer patients.