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Pain Management

News, opinions and meeting coverage in anesthesiology.

Excerpt From 'Being Mortal ... '

Ivan Ilyich isn't as foreign to today's medicine as we imagine.

Portenoy Opioid Talk Sparks Controversy

Opioid advocate Russell Portenoy's invitation to an upcoming NIH workshop is under fire.

Are Your Patients Using Fake Names?

A case study in the American Journal of Medicine poses a vexing question many healthcare professionals have faced: What should you do when your patients use fraudulent names?

Now What? DEA Tosses Tramadol in Schedule IV

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) scheduled tramadol as a Schedule IV substance -- whats the big fuss about tramadol that led to this decision by the DEA?

How To Tell Fake Neck Pain From Real: The Pain Medicine News Report

A regular update on what鈥檚 new in surgery from our friends at Pain Medicine News.

Medtronic's Infuse Moves From Operating Room to Courtroom

An investigative series by 麻豆传媒/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has been tracking the spinal fusion device called Infuse in a 4-year-long series and now reports how a flawed FDA system for device approval may have led to a long string of adverse events culminating in thousands of liability suits.

Pain Med Docs More Prone to Burnout

TAMPA -- Physicians who specialize in pain medicine appear to be at greater risk of experiencing professional burnout than physicians in other specialties, researchers reported here.

Patients鈥� Eye Color a Clue to Pain Tolerance

TAMPA -- Caucasian women with light-colored eyes -- blue or green -- appear to tolerate pain better than Causcasian women with brown or hazel eyes, researchers reported here.

APA Meeting Highlights Mental Health Biology

NEW YORK CITY -- The biological basis for normal and abnormal mental function is emerging as a dominant theme in psychiatry research, and the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting that starts here Saturday won't be an exception.

10 Ways to Safely Push Ketamine in the ED

A doctor recently took me on a Special K trip, and I enjoyed it immensely.

FDA Approves Headband Device for Migraine

A headband delivering electrical nerve stimulation can prevent onset of migraine headaches and can be marketed for that purpose in the U.S., the FDA said Tuesday.

Medtronic Sued by 1,000 Infuse Patients

Medtronic said about 1,000 people have sued the company over its bone morphogenetic protein-2 product, Infuse, and that many more lawsuits may be coming.

Killing Pain: Xanax Tops Charts

Alprazolam, more popularly known by its brand name -- Xanax--is America's favorite tranquilizer and one that is often used in combination with an opioid.

Killing Pain: Benzo 'Boost' Can Be Deadly

Adding a benzodiazepine to an opioid painkiller can increase the effect of the opioid, or in the language of addiction, benzos can boost the high -- but the combo can be deadly, according to this Killing Pain report from 麻豆传媒 and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Killing Pain: Tramadol the 'Safe' Drug of Abuse

Almost 2 decades have passed since the FDA approved tramadol as a 'safe' opioid, but the intervening years provide evidence to question that 'safe' claim, as this latest investigation by John Fauber for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-麻豆传媒 revealed.

Common Cause for Bruxism, Restless Legs, Migraine?

NEW ORLEANS -- About half of patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) seen in a single neurology practice also qualified for diagnoses of bruxism and migraine, suggesting a possible common cause for these disorders, a researcher said here.

Opioid Use Common After Spine Surgery

NEW ORLEANS -- One year after surgery to relieve back pain, about of third of patients still were using narcotic painkillers, according to a study that raised new concerns about the long-term use of opioids.

FDA Warns of Fatal Skin Reactions with Acetaminophen

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Acetaminophen is associated with rare but severe and sometimes fatal skin reactions at usual doses, the FDA said Thursday.

FDA Allows Opana Generics

The original formulation of extended-release oxymorphone (Opana ER) that lacked abuse-resistant mechanisms was not pulled from the market for safety reasons, and therefore generics based on that recipe are permissible, the FDA said.

Hydrocodone Curbs Back Pain All by Itself

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Treatment with extended-release hydrocodone without acetaminophen offered effective relief from chronic low back pain compared with placebo, researchers said here.

Acute Pain Yields to Lower-Dose Diclofenac

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Lower-dose submicron particle diclofenac offered good pain control compared with placebo, researchers reported here.

Preop Ketamine May Lower Pain in Fibromyalgia

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- In fibromyalgia patients undergoing knee or hip replacement surgery, low-dose, intraoperative ketamine appeared to reduce the need for post-surgical opioid therapy, researchers said here.

Migraine Drug May Set Stage for Kidney Stones

ORLANDO - Patients who take topiramate (Topamax) therapy for treatment of migraine appear to deplete citrate in the urine, creating an environment for kidney stones, researchers reported here.

FDA Warns About Codeine Following Tonsillectomy

Products that contain codeine should not be used for pain relief in children following tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy because of a possible risk of serious adverse events or death, the FDA said Wednesday.

Deaths Trigger DEA Probe of Pain Specialist

Treating pain is challenging, and sometimes perilous, for both physician and patient, as is illustrated by Lynn Webster, MD, president-elect of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, who is the subject of an investigation triggered by as many as 20 deaths among his patients.

NuPathe's Patch for Migraine Wins FDA Approval

WASHINGTON -- Adults with migraine will soon have a new treatment option -- Zecuity, a transdermal, battery-powered sumatriptan patch.

FDA Panel Gives Thumbs Down to Opioid

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- An FDA advisory committee voted 11-2 on Friday against recommending approval of a single-entity hydrocodone product, raising questions about its abuse potential.

Drug Relieves Opioid-Induced Constipation

LAS VEGAS -- An investigational opioid antagonist provided effective and durable relief from opioid-induced constipation in patients with chronic pain without interfering with analgesia, a randomized trial showed.

Anatomy of an Epidemic: The Opioid Movie

The national clamor over abuse of prescription opioids is now at a fever pitch, but little has been said about what drove the boon in opioid prescriptions. This latest report from 麻豆传媒/ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analyzes a pivotal Oxycontin marketing video, it's impact and its aftermath.

Latest Use for Botox: Teeth Grinding

茂禄驴NEW ORLEANS -- Patients who ground their teeth so hard during sleep that they required medical attention achieved significant relief from botulinum toxin shots, researchers said here.

Doctors Say 45 Common Tests 'Overused'

Nine specialty groups have listed tests and treatments that are frequently overused, such as antibiotics for sinus attacks and CT scans for low back pain, in the first phase of a long-term project.

Hormones Out of Whack With Long Opioid Therapy

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Intractable pain patients on long-term, high doses of opioids should be screened for hormonal abnormalities, researchers said here.

Ablation Possible for Back Pain When Steroid Injections Fail

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Patients with low back pain who don't respond robustly to intraarticular steroid injections may still be candidates for treatment with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), researchers said here.

Short-Acting Opioids May Have Less Impact on Testosterone

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Men who take long-acting opioids for chronic pain may have a higher risk of hypogonadism than those on short-acting formulations of the drugs, researchers said here.

Follow the Money: Pain, Policy, and Profit

When the Federation of State Medical Boards decided it needed to put a model guideline for opioid use into a book, it reached out and touched the makers of opioid drugs to make it happen.

Muscle Massage Rubs Out Inflammation

Heavily stressed muscles responded to massage therapy with a variety of biologic changes associated with reduced inflammation, analysis of tissue specimens showed.

Epidural Plus Fever During Labor Put Baby at Risk

A temperature spike during labor with epidural analgesia may indicate serious risks for the baby in an otherwise low-risk delivery, researchers found.

Acetaminophen OD More Deadly if Taken in Stages

Acetaminophen overdoses were more likely to be fatal if patients consumed a series of high doses spread over the course of a day rather than downing, say, a bottle of pills at one time, outcomes among patients admitted to a specialized liver center showed.

ACR: Savella Brings Relief Long-Term in Fibromyalgia

CHICAGO -- Milnacipran (Savella), a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, brought long-term relief to fibromyalgia patients who remained on therapy, researchers said here.

Parkinson's Drug Doesn't Slow Disease Progress, FDA Staff Says

WASHINGTON -- Azilect (rasagiline), which is already approved to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease, does not appear effective at slowing progression of the neurodegenerative disease, according to an FDA review.

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