Pain Management

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston implemented an opioid-minimizing, multimodal pain regimen to maximize pain relief and decrease patient exposure to opioids.

Despite the implementation of protocols to reduce opioid prescriptions during hospitalizations, approximately 90% of women who underwent cesarean delivery and did not use opioids in the hospital were discharged with an opioid prescription, according to findings from two related studies presented at Anesthesiology 2019.

One-fifth of patients were prescribed opioids after cardiac implantable electronic device procedures, most of whom were opioid naive, according to a study published in HeartRhythm.

Surveyed family members rated end-of-life care higher when dialysis was discontinued before death or when hospice services were provided along with dialysis treatments, according to a published study.

Pharmacologic treatments to prevent migraine in children and teens are effective, but so is placebo, complicating the issue for clinicians and families. Guidance from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Headache Society suggests that clinicians should counsel their patients on lifestyle and behavioral factors that contribute to migraine frequency, and it encourages shared decision-making with patients and caregivers regarding the use of preventive medication.

Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California is changing its standards of pain management after surgery as part of an enhanced recovery after surgery program for all service lines. By combining multimodal analgesia with patient involvement and education in their care, faculty and staff members at the institution have seen better outcomes and pain management, as well as shorter lengths of stay.

SAN DIEGO — Thomas Kosten, MD, Waggoner Chair and Professor of Psychiatry, Pharmacology, Immunology, and Neuroscience, and director of the division of addictions at Baylor College of Medicine, spoke about the potential of nonopioid alternatives for chronic pain in a video interview.

While prescription opioid use was associated with increased mortality and hospitalization risks for all patients regardless of kidney function, researchers found the risk for death was highest among those with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease.

Abbott announced it has received FDA approval for its recharge-free neurostimulation system, Proclaim XR, for patients with chronic pain.

When it comes to informing treatment decisions, rheumatologists value patient-reported symptoms and physical function over physical findings and test results, according to group polling results published in BMC Rheumatology.