Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Analyzing hospital naloxone use may assist in identification of areas for quality and safety improvement. Our primary objective is to quantitate the incidence of hospital naloxone use and to assess certain patient populations at risk. ⋯ Examination of naloxone use can assist in the identification and stratification of patients at risk for opioid-induced respiratory depression and oversedation and can serve as a driver for improvements in hospital patient safety. This information can also guide other institutions interested in similar improvements.
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Sleep disturbances are particularly troublesome in patients with painful rheumatic disease. This article reviews the literature specifically published on sleep disturbances in osteoarthritis, a prevalent pathology and leading cause of disability. ⋯ When needed, a specific treatment of sleep disorders should be associated with an optimal management of pain to achieve synergistic improvements in quality of life. More large-scale studies are needed to identify predictive factors of sleep impairment in osteoarthritis.
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The Dutch clinical practice guideline on the diagnosis and management of pain in patients with cancer was published in 2008 and intensively promoted to healthcare professionals who see patients with cancer. One of the most important recommendations is the systematic registering of the pain and its intensity. To evaluate in which degree this part of the practice guideline is implemented, we analyzed the medical records of patients attending the outpatient oncological clinic in an academic hospital, a large teaching hospital, and 4 smaller peripheral hospitals. ⋯ There may be several reasons for the difference in reporting rate of pain in patients with cancer. Our findings indicate that the clinical practice guideline with regard to pain registration is poorly implemented in oncology outpatient clinics. More efforts should be made to generate the awareness for the need of pain registration.