Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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On March 22, 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced enhanced warnings for immediate-release opioid pain medications related to risks of misuse, abuse, addiction, overdose, and death. The new safety warnings also added to all prescription opioid medications to inform prescribers and patients of additional risks related to opioid use.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2016
Intercostal Nerve Block and Neurolysis for Intractable Cancer Pain.
Management of intractable cancer-associated chest wall pain is difficult once patients have reached dose-limiting side effects of opioids and coanalgesic medications. This case series describes 11 patients with intractable cancer-associated chest wall pain who were treated with a diagnostic intercostal nerve block. Six patients subsequently received chemical neurolysis with phenol using the same approach. ⋯ Four of six patients experienced pain relief from the neurolytic blockade. The principal reportable finding from this case series is the observation that contrast dye spread liberally from the intercostal space into other anatomic spaces, even though very small volumes of injectate (less than 5 mL) were used. Definitive evidence of safety and efficacy of intercostal nerve block and neurolysis for cancer pain will require a prospective randomized clinical trial.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2016
Practice GuidelineGuideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.
Improving the way opioids are prescribed through clinical practice guidelines can ensure patients have access to safer, more effective chronic pain treatment while reducing the number of people who misuse, abuse, or overdose from these drugs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed and published the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain to provide recommendations for the prescribing of opioid pain medication for patients 18 and older in primary care settings. Recommendations focus on the use of opioids in treating chronic pain (pain lasting longer than 3 months or past the time of normal tissue healing) outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2016
Clinical TrialSubanesthetic, Subcutaneous Ketamine Infusion Therapy in the Treatment of Chronic Nonmalignant Pain.
This study was designed to describe the efficacy and toxicity of subcutaneous ketamine infusions and sublingual ketamine lozenges for the treatment of chronic nonmalignant pain. Data were collected prospectively on 70 subjects managed in an academic, tertiary care hospital between 2007 and 2012 who received between 3 and 7 days of subanesthetic, subcutaneous ketamine infusion. Data were analyzed for efficacy, adverse effects, and reduction in use of opioid medication. ⋯ The infusion provided significant pain relief in subjects who had failed a wide range of pharmacological and cognitive behavioral therapies. In addition, the results indicate that sublingual ketamine lozenges offer a promising therapeutic option for longer-term relief of chronic nonmalignant pain. The ketamine lozenges have been shown to have acceptable storage stability, and the sublingual bioavailability is sufficiently high and reproducible to support its use in this context.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2016
Medication Overuse Headache Due to Butalbital, Acetaminophen, and Caffeine Tablets.
Questions from patients about pain conditions and analgesic pharmacotherapy and responses from authors are presented to help educate patients and make them more effective self-advocates. Medication overuse headache is a relatively common cause for chronic daily headache in the migraine patient. In reply to a question, medication overuse headache is reviewed, acute and preventive medications are discussed, and quality of life is considered.