Articles: palliative-care.
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Chronic pelvic pain remains a difficult management problem that is often refractory to traditional medical or surgical therapy. The pain management center approach used successfully for the treatment of cancer pain and headache can be adapted to the treatment of chronic pelvic pain. The results of this pilot study suggest that the multidisciplinary techniques of pain management promise to be an effective modality for the treatment of chronic pelvic pain.
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In the patient with advanced cancer, effective symptom control requires a multidisciplinary, multimodal approach. Considerations involved in the control of pain can serve as a model for management of other symptoms, such as anorexia and dyspnea, as well.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Amitriptyline relieves diabetic neuropathy pain in patients with normal or depressed mood.
In a randomized, double-blind crossover study, 29 patients with painful diabetic neuropathy received 6 weeks of amitriptyline and 6 weeks of an "active" placebo that mimicked amitriptyline side effects. Amitriptyline was superior to placebo in relieving pain in weeks 3 through 6. ⋯ Amitriptyline analgesia was similar in depressed and nondepressed subgroups and was not associated with mood improvement. We conclude that amitriptyline relieves pain in diabetic neuropathy; this effect is independent of mood elevation.
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The National Hospice Study of 1986 has not only revealed that hospices do a better job of meeting pain-control goals than do hospitals, but also elucidated a number of important differences in hospice and hospital care that account for this finding.