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With opioids in the penalty box, and no new molecule on the horizon, what is "plan B" for primary care in the treatment of chronic pain? Dr. Stacey offers perspective, as a pain practitioner.
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Findings from a new study conclude that patients on long-term opioid therapy for noncancer pain and who also suffer from depression were more successful at stopping opioid use if they also adhere to a course of antidepressant medication. These patients, in turn, experienced a greater improvement in...
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Patients with chronic pain and substance use disorders often have accompanying psychiatric and medical disorders that place them at elevated risk for suicide. Dr. Cheatle, a professor of psychiatry, discusses the epidemiology of suicidal ideation in this population and offers some guidance in...
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Dr. Pryzbylkowski reviews some alternatives to opioids for pain management at different points in the surgical spectrum that can promote improved patient outcomes and mitigate the risk of adverse effects from long term opioids.
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In this discussion, senior faculty members Heit and Gourlay reflect on some of the challenges resulting from the recent "decade of pain". Both the overuse of opioids and the solutions that have been proposed in response have led to changes in how we diagnose and treat this patient population...
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The risk for opioid dependency among opioid-naïve cancer patients who took the medication following lung surgery, is highlighted in new research presented earlier this week at the annual meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Lead author Alexander Brescia, MD, commented, “Surgeons are at the...
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I think this is a fine kettle of fish we find ourselves in with this opioid controversy. It’s easy to decry the use of opioids if you don’t have Plan B. So I think we’re seeing this in practice all the time, aren’t we?
When we talk about the multimodal therapy, the important thing is I think we...
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In a news release last week, Boston Scientific Corporation, Marlborough, MA, announced FDA approval for its Spectra WaveWriter Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) for the management of chronic pain. The Company describes it as “…the first and only system approved by the FDA to simultaneously provide...
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Cannabis as a pharmacological agent has been used for centuries. It's been described in China, in Asian countries dating back to well before the BC era. Ultimately it made its way to the United States where it actually was made available to patients until it was outlawed in the 1930s and '40s. And...
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Researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, supported by collaborating scientists from other institutions, have reported major new insights that may illuminate the route to opioids that relieve pain without provoking the adverse effects that underlie the current opioid...