Adding the atypical antipsychotic drug olanzapine to a patient’s therapeutic regimen might help ease their refractory pain, a new systematic review suggests. Although not US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved for pain, and not traditionally considered an analgesic, olanzapine has the strongest evidence for pain control of all the atypical antipsychotics, according to the review. […]
Read MoreA patient was in a motor vehicle accident that shattered his right leg. He started taking morphine extended-release tablets (MS Contin, Purdue Pharma) at a dose of 100 mg up to three times daily with escalating doses over 4 years, but he still had persistent back and leg pain that he rated a 10 on […]
Read MoreA procedure that involves radiofrequency ablation of sensory nerves in the degenerated lumbar disc may give many patients with chronic low back pain significant relief. Researchers have now collected up to 12 months of data on patients undergoing the procedure — called intradiscal biacuplasty (IDB) — and it shows improved pain scores, functioning, and quality […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: March 2016 AUTHORS: Mirzakhani, Hooman MD, PhD, MMSc et BACKGROUND: Neuromuscular blockade is required to control excessive muscle contractions during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). In a crossover, assessor-blinded, prospective randomized study, we studied the minimum effective dose (MED) of succinylcholine and rocuronium for ECT. The MED was the lowest dose to provide a […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: March 9, 2016 AUTHORS: Monahan, Amanda M. MD et al BACKGROUND: Multiple studies have demonstrated that, for single-injection popliteal sciatic nerve blocks, block characteristics are dependent upon local anesthetic injection relative to the sciatic nerve bifurcation. In contrast, this relation remains unexamined for continuous popliteal sciatic nerve blocks. We, therefore, tested the […]
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