Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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Despite great progress in our understanding and management of pain, undertreatment of postoperative pain is still a major problem. There are individual patient differences in terms of nociception and perception, as well as varying responses to pain management. Postoperative pain can impact on the length of hospital stay, mobilization after surgery, and patient satisfaction. --This report is adapted from paineurope 2015: Issue 1, ©Haymarket Medical Publications Ltd, and is presented with permission. paineurope is provided as a service to pain management by Mundipharma International, LTD and is distributed free of charge to healthcare professionals in Europe. Archival issues can be viewed via the website: www.paineurope.com at which health professionals can find links to the original articles and request copies of the quarterly publication and access additional pain education and pain management resources.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Sep 2015
Transmucosal Immediate-Release Fentanyl for Breakthrough Cancer Pain: Opportunities and Challenges for Use in Palliative Care.
Opioids are used to treat breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) and can be classified by relative duration and onset of action. Regulatory approvals of numerous transmucosal immediate-release fentanyl (TIRF) formulations provide alternative options to palliative care-trained providers in the management of BTCP. TIRFs have been formulated as a sublingual tablet, sublingual spray, intranasal spray, pectin-based nasal spray, buccal tablet, and buccal soluble film. ⋯ Opportunities for use include palliation of BTCP in head and neck cancer and/or radiation-induced mucositis. The purpose of this review is to discuss TIRF formulation and dosing, pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy, patient acceptability, and safety/tolerability. In addition, barriers to TIRF utilization will be discussed.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2015
Case ReportsTapering and discontinuation of methadone for chronic pain.
How to taper and discontinue methadone therapy for chronic pain management is illustrated through a case report. This report is adapted from paineurope 2014; Issue 4, ©Haymarket Medical Publications Ltd, and is presented with permission. paineurope is provided as a service to pain management by Mundipharma International, LTD and is distributed free of charge to healthcare professionals in Europe. Archival issues can be viewed via the website: www.paineurope.com at which health professionals can find links to the original articles and request copies of the quarterly publication and access additional pain education and pain management resources.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2015
Review Case ReportsOlanzapine in the treatment of refractory nausea and vomiting: a case report and review of the literature.
The role of olanzapine in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is supported from randomized controlled trials and national consensus guidelines such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. In contrast, the role of olanzapine in refractory non-CINV is limited to case reports/series, retrospective studies, one pilot study, and one randomized controlled trial in patients with major depressive disorder. ⋯ We aim to contribute to the growing evidence supporting the use of olanzapine for refractory non-CINV. Furthermore, we review and summarize the literature regarding olanzapine in the CINV and non-CINV settings.