Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2007
Comparative StudyManagement strategies for neuropathic pain in different European countries.
Many healthcare professionals are aware of the management protocols for nociceptive pain. However, the diagnosis and management of neuropathic pain remains, for many. a confusing and uncertain topic. This paper looks at neuropathic pain management in two countries, Poland and the Republic of Ireland, and discusses the analgesic strategies for the management of this common type of pain.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2007
The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care list of essential medicines for palliative care.
The World Health Organization (WHO) requested that the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) develop a list of essential drugs for palliative care to be included in the WHO list of essential drugs. This report describes the process by which this specialized list was developed and the outcomes of that process.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2007
Managing pain in chronic pancreatitis:therapeutic value of opioid treatment.
The value of opioid pharmacotherapy in the management of chronic pancreatitis pain is described. The role of kappa receptor opioid agonists and specifically oxycodone as compared to other opioid agonists is discussed. Limitations in the published studies on this topic are delineated as are difficulties in extrapolating form animal studies to clinical care.
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Queries from European physicians about analgesic pharmacotherapy and responses from the author are presented. The topics addressed are the safety of propoxyphene, the risk of opioid dependence in nonmalignant pain, the role of ziconotide in pain management, and titration of sustained acting opioids.
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In the past year, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) Board of Directors charged the Academy's Ethics Committee with updating our positions on a number of topics, and the board recently approved and published position statements on artificial hydration and nutrition, palliative sedation, and physician-assisted death, as well as statements on palliative care research, quality palliative care, and palliative care accreditation. AAHPM supports intense efforts to alleviate suffering and to reduce any perceived need for physician assisted death (PAD). The Board of Directors respects the beliefs and opinions of all members and does not suggest that physicians or healthcare providers be forced to deliver care they see as harmful or wrong. ⋯ Situations in which patients or their surrogates request physician assisted death (PAD) are particularly challenging for physicians and other healthcare providers because they raise significant clinical, ethical, and legal issues. Deep disagreement persists about the morality of PAD, and sincere, compassionate, and morally conscientious individuals stand on both sides of this debate. Rather than take a position of one side or the other, the Board's position of "studied neutrality" is intended to stimulate thinking and discussion about how best to respond to the urgent needs of the few dying patients who continue to suffer despite expert palliative care.