Pain Management

A new study suggests that patients undergoing thyroid and parathyroid surgery need little opioid treatment postoperatively if they receive preoperative patient education.

Acupuncture represents a nonopioid alternative for treatment pain, but many institutions, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, are resistant to using the treatment.

A German study examined whether multidisciplinary inpatient treatment for chronic neuropathic pain leads to improvement of pain in outcome and psychological variables at posttreatment and 3-month follow-up.

For chronic sciatica, a recent study said that while gabapentin (GBP) and pregabalin (PGB) are both effective, GBP was found to be superior with fewer and less severe adverse events.

Results of a study about an implantable device for chronic pain relief showed it reduced disability by about 27%, according to patient-reported outcomes about this nondrug pain treatment.

A new study identified 3 novel genetic variants associated with chronic back pain, which is a leading cause of disability worldwide.

Insurers have inconsistent policy terms for nondrug treatments for low back pain while providing limited or no coverage for treatments that have scientific support, such as acupuncture and psychological counseling, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Opioid abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFs) represent 1 aspect of an opioid risk management plan that is aimed at managing a patient’s pain relief and quality of life while also protecting against harmful outcomes of opioid misuse. A report, published by the Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, outlined ADF types and strategies and concluded all stakeholders play a role and must cooperate with opioid risk management in order to be effective.

Coverage of our peer-reviewed research and news reporting in the healthcare and mainstream press.

Researchers developed a set of items based on a previous literature review and patients’ focus groups and tested it on a wide set of patients with episodic and chronic migraine.

On the heels of various reports that have highlighted the challenges of treating back pain, Palmer College of Chiropractic and Gallup released their fourth annual survey of attitudes about and experiences with chiropractic care. The 2018 Gallup-Palmer College of Chiropractic Annual Report: Managing Neck and Back Pain in America is the latest effort by the college to see if public perceptions of chiropractic care match the ones held internally.

Chronic pain is often associated with depression or dysphoria as people can no longer do all the things they want, which may require psychosocial services, said Winston Collins, PhD, program director for substance use services at the John F. Kennedy Behavioral Health Centers.

Healthcare providers must think about the entire home environment their patient lives in when prescribing opioids, said Jeffrey Gudin, MD, director of Pain Management and Palliative Care at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.

The majority of patients who suffer from migraine experience premonitory symptoms and are able to predict at least 1 attack, according to a new study.

Researchers recently investigated what role exercise plays in migraine prevention and found that although exercise can trigger migraine attacks, regular exercise may have prophylactic effects on migraine frequency.

This instrumental variables analysis estimates that Medicare would realize $362 million in annual savings if all patients with newly diagnosed low back pain were managed conservatively.

A study has found that noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation can provide pain relief for up to 60 minutes after an acute attack.

AARP and other groups reacted strongly to reports that the pharmaceutical industry was using efforts to combat the opioid crisis to roll back an agreement to close the coverage gap in Medicare Part D.

States, communities, and organizations received more than $1 billion in grants from HHS to help them fight the opioid crisis; a preliminary study has found that children conceived through infertility treatments could be at higher risk for cardiovascular disease; the State of California is alleging that AbbVie boosted sales of Humira through kickbacks to prescribers and a network of nurse ambassadors.

There are 2 ways prescription drug monitoring programs can improve, said Jeffrey Gudin, MD, Pain Management and Palliative Care at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is the latest insurer to announce it will no longer pay for OxyContin and will instead cover newer abuse-deterrent opioids; a new prototype may upend the way people get vaccinated during an influenza pandemic through patches with microscopic needles; as Hurricane Florence prepares to hit the Carolinas, health officials are trying to protect seniors, who tend to be the most vulnerable and bear the brunt of storms.

Two studies presented at the PAINWeek conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, took a look into the prevalence of acute medication use and overuse among migraineurs, as well as rates of medication discontinuation due to lack of efficacy or side effects.

The pendulum has swung so far that even patients with cancer pain may not get the appropriate medications they need, but there are things healthcare providers can keep in mind when caring for patients who need opioids for pain, said Jeffrey Gudin, MD, director of Pain Management and Palliative Care at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center.

Illinois has passed a law allowing doctors in the state to prescribe marijuana as pain medication in a fight against the opioid epidemic; the FDA has told California that a cancer warning label for coffee is misleading; and the FDA is continuing its push against the illegal sale of opioids.

This study evaluated a passive clinical pharmacist intervention to reduce the coprescribing of benzodiazepines and opioid analgesics by using chart review notes to alert providers.

Patients with low back pain have a high opioid burden, which increases following spinal fusion surgery; 27% of fusion patients filled opioid prescriptions at least 12 months post surgery.

Recently, 2 studies investigated pain experienced in patients with multiple sclerosis and how the disease is treated, overall.

Payers and providers are looking to keep vulnerable patients in pain from becoming addicted to painkillers, but those who live with pain on a daily basis are understandably upset at the thought of losing access to medications they say keep them functional. Here are 5 takeaways from recent coverage about this important issue.

The FDA is trying to ensure that patients with chronic pain have access to the medication they need; Pfizer just raised list prices for more than 40 of its drugs, some with increases as much as 9.4%; hospitals are becoming better at identifying the symptoms of sepsis sooner, but an update in technology to test for sepsis is needed.

For many patients with migraine, cannabis served as a substitute for other pain medications, including opioids.