Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2009
ReviewPain and palliative care pharmacotherapy literature summaries and analyses.
Timely and important studies are reviewed and commentaries provided by leading palliative care clinicians. Symptoms, interventions, and treatment-related adverse events addressed in this issue are management of Alzheimer's agitation with donepezil; needle-free lidocaine powder for minor painful procedures; psychostimulants in depression; anticoagulation for cancer-related venous thromboembolism; effect of waiting for acute pain treatment on risk of chronic pain; and an update on severe cutaneous reactions associated with medications.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2009
ReviewPalliative care pharmacotherapy literature summaries and analyses.
Timely and important studies are reviewed and commentaries provided by leading palliative care clinicians. Symptoms, interventions, and treatment-related adverse events addressed in this issue are computerized symptom management; anticholinergic agents in lung disease; neuropathic pain and morphine effectiveness; morphine dosing; inflammatory cytokines and pain; oral ghrelin-mimetics and sarcopenia; and opioid-induced bowel dysfunction.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2009
Impact of constipation on opioid use patterns, health care resource utilization, and costs in cancer patients on opioid therapy.
Patterns of opioid use, resource utilization, and costs in cancer patients with and without constipation were compared using retrospective insurance claims data. Inclusion criteria were > =30 days of opioid use and continuous plan coverage for > or =6 months before and > or =12 months following first opioid claim (index date). Constipation was defined as > or =1 ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes in the range of 564.0x during the 12 months postindex date. ⋯ Compared with controls, patients with constipation had substantially higher total costs (P < .0001). This study suggests that in opioid-treated cancer patients, constipation significantly impacts opioid-use patterns, resource utilization, and costs. Alleviation of constipation may optimize opioid therapy and reduce costs.
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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.