Chronic Pain

The U.S. departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense recently updated their clinical practice guidelines for the use of opioids in patients with chronic pain, the first update in 5 years.

Most antidepressants were either ineffective or lacked evidence for effectiveness when used for the treatment of certain chronic pain conditions, suggesting “a more nuanced approach is needed,” researchers wrote in BMJ.

Details on pain recall may be necessary to supplement the numerical rating and VAS for pain assessment in clinical trials of hidradenitis suppurativa, according to a study.

Optimizing collaborative care medication was modestly more effective than cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing pain impact among United States veterans, researchers reported in JAMA Network Open.

WASHINGTON — In a Healio video exclusive, Leen Al-Sayyed, MD, gastroenterology and transplant hepatology fellow at St. Louis University, reported women with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-cirrhosis had an increased prevalence for polypharmacy.

As a family physician for more than 40 years, I have had countless patients come to me desperately hoping to alleviate their chronic pain.

 In recognition of Pain Awareness Month, Healio has compiled a list of recent articles chronicling pain management in rheumatology. Read the most popular pain management stories from this year:

LAS VEGAS — Chronic pain is not a straightforward disease, and the clinician must gather information from a variety of sources, a presenter said at PAINWeek 2022.

LAS VEGAS — Patients enduring chronic pain may also encounter a stigma linked to their opioid treatment, and forced tapering exacerbates that burden, a presenter said at PAINWeek 2022.

LAS VEGAS — Results from a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults indicated strong use of various self-care options, with over-the-counter pain relievers the most common, according to a poster presented at PAINWeek 2022.