| Article
Much of the publicity today, as well as initiatives like the CDC guidelines, really focus on the outpatient problems with chronic pain patients. But there’s a growing concern with how we prescribe opioids for post-op pain control. There is a fair amount of literature that’s emerging about whether...
| Article
A research team from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Saini reports new discoveries relating to the molecular causes of heroin addiction that, according to their additional work on rodent models, may point the way to new and promising therapeutic tools for opioid use disorder in humans. The...
| Article
The challenge to prescribers seeking to manage their patients’ chronic pain while addressing the risk for opioid related adverse events has escalated with the increasing use of opioid therapy over the last 2 decades. A recent study by a team that included PAINWeek faculty member Beth Darnall, PhD...
| Video
One approach to maintaining the balance between risks and benefits of opioid therapy for chronic pain has been the development of abuse deterrent formulations. A pain management PA provides an overview of abuse deterrent technologies, both existing and emerging. While developments are encouraging...
| Podcast
Every day something new happens in pain management. One day it might be a change in a licensing board practice standards and the next day might bring new legislation on opioid overdose prevention. Whatever the case, pain management practitioners need a system to help keep themselves and their staff...
| Podcast
The field of pain management has undergone a circuitous adventure, much like a rabbit hole. As the economic, mental health, and medical consequences of prescribing opioid medications have mounted, the prevailing logic regarding the usefulness of prescribing opioids for chronic pain has shifted. The...
| Podcast
As we acknowledge the recent increases in deaths and other negative outcomes associated with chronic opioid use, abuse, and overdose, we as clinicians are faced with very important questions: Can opioids be rationally prescribed for chronic pain? For whom? How? For how long? Recent CDC guidelines...
| Podcast
Opioid therapy fairly predictably causes constipation, which can be a great source of distress for patients. Defined as a reduction in bowel movement frequency and increased straining, this adverse effect is so common that good practice dictates preventive therapies, not waiting to see if it...
| Article
The risk of opioid induced respiratory depression (OIRD), especially among elderly patients, may be even more pronounced than previously thought, according to findings from a new study published online this week in the journal Anesthesiology. The study reports that a single dose of oxycodone taken...
| Podcast
Effective pain management has been deemed a human right, but some chronic pain patients perceive that to mean they are entitled to opioid analgesics for prolonged pain control. In response to these expectations, providers may feel pressured to say "Yes" and continue prescribing opioids, thereby...