Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2022
ReviewThe Efficacy of Capsaicin on Sleep Quality and Fatigue in Fibromyalgia.
Capsaicin is a topical pain reliever that has been evaluated by randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as a potential adjunctive therapy for treating unmitigated fibromyalgia. Therefore, a review of English articles using PubMed and Embase was conducted from January 1, 1990 to February 9, 2022 in order to evaluate the utility of capsaicin for improvement of sleep quality and fatigue associated with fibromyalgia. The search terms included: "fibromyalgia" and "capsaicin". ⋯ This same study also found a significant improvement in fatigue. Consequently, this existing evidence is insufficient to warrant recommending capsaicin as adjunctive therapy for improvement in sleep quality and fatigue. Future studies regarding capsaicin therapy for fibromyalgia are needed.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2022
Risk Factors for the Development of Neuropsychiatric Adverse Effects in Ketamine-Treated Pain.
Ketamine use has increased recently for the management of acute and chronic pain. Ketamine can cause a variety of neuropsychiatric adverse effects, such as hallucinations, dysphoria, and nightmares. The objective of this study was to explore risk factors for the development of neuropsychiatric adverse effects in ketamine-treated pain. ⋯ Patients who had an adverse effect were numerically less likely to receive benzodiazepines (28% vs 39.7%, p = 0.153), as were patients who required discontinuation of ketamine (23.1% vs. 41.4%, p = 0.08). In patients receiving ketamine for pain, predicting who may be more likely to experience neuropsychiatric adverse effects remains difficult. Further research is warranted to determine whether benzodiazepines are safe and effective for mitigating these adverse effects in this setting.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2022
Evaluation of Hospitalized Patients Receiving High versus Low-Dose Opioids for Non-Cancer Pain.
Limited studies suggest that opioid-related adverse effects (ORAEs) may worsen hospitalized patient outcomes, but there is insufficient data related to the impact of high-dose opioids compared to low-dose on adverse patient events. Given the paucity of data, our study aims to evaluate these ORAEs in the general hospitalized patient with non-cancer pain. A retrospective study of adult patients receiving opioids with a primary diagnoses of myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, pneumonia, sepsis, or diabetes was conducted. ⋯ No statistically significant differences in LOS or 30-day readmission rates were identified between the groups. For patients receiving >100 MMEs/day, ORAEs occurred in 61% of patients. Hospitalized patients receiving high-dose opioids for non-cancer pain may have an increased incidence of ORAEs.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2022
ReviewPharmacotherapy in Cachexia: A Review of Endocrine Abnormalities and Steroid Pharmacotherapy.
Cachexia is a state of increased metabolism associated with high morbidity and mortality. Dysregulation of cytokines and hormone activity causes reduced protein synthesis and excessive protein breakdown. various treatments are available, depending on the primary disease and the patient's state. Besides pharmacological treatment, crucial is nutritional support as well as increasing physical activity. ⋯ Estrogen analogs, progesterone analogs, testosterone analogs, Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARM), Angiotensin-Converting-Enzyme Inhibitors (ACEI), Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), thalidomide, melatonin, Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-2 (GHRP-2) may play important role in wasting syndrome treatment as well. However, for the usage of some of them, evidence-based recommendations are not available. This review highlights current therapeutic options for cachexia with a specific focus on steroid therapy.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2022
Predictors of Opioid Resistance: An Investigation in Cancer Pain.
Appropriate use of opioid analgesics according to the World Health Organization pain relief ladder has provided pain relief to many patients with cancer pain. However, a proportion of patients fail to achieve sufficient pain relief and develop opioid resistance. Individual risk factors may relate to opioid resistance. ⋯ Age, neuropathic pain, and alkaline phosphatase were extracted as significant factors for opioid resistance (p < 0.05). A resistance score was created from these factors and classified into binary values, the sensitivity was 80.6% and the negative predictive value was 91.6%. The findings suggest that the resistance score could be a sensitive predictor of opioid resistance before opioid initiation.