Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2009
Drug enforcement administration liability for false arrest of physician.
Prescribing opioid analgesic medications brings with it a risk of regulatory oversight. A Florida Physician, Dr. Andrew Nguyen, was arrested in 2000 for allegedly violating controlled substance laws. ⋯ The United States Court of Appeals has now reinstated Dr. Nguyen's lawsuit against the DEA. The reinstatement of the lawsuit corrects a moral hazard that produces imbalanced regulatory perspectives on the enforcement of controlled substance laws.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2009
Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of neuropathic pain: consensus of a group of Latin American experts.
These consensus guidelines have been developed by a group of Latin American experts in pain management, to point out patterns and make practical recommendations to guide the diagnosis, identify warning signs (yellow and red flags), and establish comprehensive medical management (pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment) and monitoring plans for patients enduring neuropathic pain. From the viewpoint of pharmacologic management, drugs are classified into groups according to efficacy, availability/accessibility, and safety criteria. Drugs are recommended for use depending on the disease and particular circumstances of each patient, with an approach that favors multimodal treatment while taking into consideration the idiosyncrasies of medical practice in Latin America.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2009
Prevalence, etiology, and management of neuropathic pain in an Indian cancer hospital.
Neuropathic pain is still an under-diagnosed and undertreated problem in third world countries. This retrospective study was undertaken to detect the prevalence, etiology and treatment profile of neuropathic pain in cancer. During January-December 2007, 716 new cancer pain patients were examined in Tata Memorial Hospital Pain Clinic. ⋯ Only 35% patients followed up more than once at the pain clinic. The most common and challenging patients were of orofacial pain. Nerve blocks techniques have a limited role in neuropathic pain.
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This commentary refutes published assertions that opioid use is inherently dangerous and to be discouraged. A reasoned case for risk-to-benefit considerations is presented. Data from federal reporting systems are placed in perspective. The importance of using opioids rationally in pain management is supported.