Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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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
Case ReportsUltrasound-Guided Continuous Superficial Radial Nerve Block for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.
Although there are many potentially effective therapeutic options for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), no definitive treatment exists. Therefore, patients often exhaust both medical and surgical treatment options attempting to find relief for their symptoms. ⋯ This treatment approach also assisted in the decision-making process related to future treatment options. Although the use of regional anesthesia and perineural infusions of local anesthetic have previously been described as viable treatment options for CRPS, this case report represents the first known use of a superficial radial nerve catheter for treating CRPS as well as the first description of a technique for placing a superficial radial nerve (SRN) catheter using ultrasound guidance.
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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.