Clark W et al. Lancet 2016 Aug 17. Hirsch JA and Chandra RV. Lancet 2016 Aug 17. The procedure benefitted some highly selected patients when performed a few weeks after vertebral fracture. Vertebroplasty is injection of polymethylmethacrylate “cement” into a fractured vertebral body to reduce pain and disability. The popularity of this procedure declined after 2009, when two randomized, sham-controlled […]
Read MoreResearchers have determined that patients who have not had an opioid prescription within 1 year prior to their procedure are at low risk of developing persistent opioid use after major surgery. The research, published online by JAMA Surgery, showed that of the 39,140 observed patients only 0.4% (~1 in every 225 patients) continued to receive ongoing […]
Read MoreUsing the common pain-relieving medication acetaminophen during pregnancy was associated with increased risk for multiple behavioural problems in children, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics. Acetaminophen is generally considered safe in pregnancy and is used by a many pregnant women for pain and fever. Evie Stergiakouli, PhD, University of Bristol, Bristol, United […]
Read MoreArthur L. Caplan, PhD Hi. I’m Art Caplan from the Division of Medical Ethics and the New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center. A former student of mine, who is now in medical school, asked me a question that comes up again and again. I have not talked about it here, but I think it […]
Read MoreScientists are testing an experimental drug that’s designed to have the painkilling power of morphine without some of the side effects that can lead to overdose deaths. Initial results in mice with the compound known for now as PZM21 suggest it might be less addictive than morphine and other opiate painkillers and avoid respiratory depression […]
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