Articles: pain-management.
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Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) poses a diagnostic and management challenge for many clinicians, particularly when disease symptomatology waxes and wanes. Monitoring symptom variations with digital and infrared thermal images allows for more accurate evaluation of disease progression overtime. ⋯ The images were instrumental toward establishing the initial diagnosis of CRPS, monitoring disease progression, and assessing response to treatment. We discuss the present understanding of infrared thermography in CRPS and advocate for its routine use at the beside.
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Prescribing rates of some analgesics decreased during the public health crisis. Yet, up to a quarter of opioid-naïve persons prescribed opioids for noncancer pain develop prescription opioid use disorder. We, therefore, sought to evaluate a pilot educational session to support primary care-based sparing of opioid analgesics for noncancer pain among opioid-naïve patients in British Columbia (BC). ⋯ The educational session outlined in this pilot yielded mixed results but appeared acceptable to learners and may need further refinement to become a feasible way to train professionals to help tackle the current toxic drugs crisis.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Perioperative transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (pTEAS) in pain management in major spinal surgery patients.
Lumbar disc herniation is seen in 5-15% of patients with lumbar back pain and is the most common spine disorder demanding surgical correction. Spinal surgery is one of the most effective management for these patients. However, current surgical techniques still present complications such as chronic pain in 10-40% of all patients who underwent lumbar surgery, which has a significant impact on patients' quality of life. Research studies have shown that transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) may reduce the cumulative dosage of intraoperative anesthetics as well as postoperative pain medications in these patients. ⋯ pTEAS could manage pain effectively and improve clinical outcomes. It could be used as a complementary technique for short-term pain management, especially in patients undergoing major surgeries.