There is insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of long-term opioid therapy for improving chronic pain, but emerging data support a dose-dependent risk for serious harms, such as overdose, mortality, and possibly fractures and cardiovascular events, according to a new review. Most opioid-related studies lasted less than 12 weeks (and many less than 6 weeks), […]
Read MorePublished in Clin Interv Aging. 2014 Dec 16;10:1-11 Authors: Guerriero F et al PURPOSE: Chronic pain is highly prevalent in older adults. Increasing evidence indicates strong opioids as a valid option for chronic pain management in geriatrics. The aim of this study was to evaluate efficacy and safety of low-dose oral prolonged-release oxycodone-naloxone (OXN-PR) in […]
Read MorePublished in Lancet Neurol. 2015 Feb;14(2):162-73 Authors: Finnerup NB et al BACKGROUND: New drug treatments, clinical trials, and standards of quality for assessment of evidence justify an update of evidence-based recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of neuropathic pain. Using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE), we revised the Special Interest Group on […]
Read MoreInterventional spine procedures have low same-day complication rates, according to an analysis of 26,151 such procedures performed at several centers in the United States. Less than 0.1% of the procedures resulted in a transfer to an emergency department (ED) or an aborted procedure, according to a presentation at the International Spine Intervention Society’s (ISIS) annual […]
Read MoreA review of the records of more than 20,000 women in labor has found that even those with platelet counts as low as 50×109/L can safely receive regional anesthesia (RA), under the right circumstances. Although RA is now the standard of care in laboring women, turning to epidurals and spinals in high-risk parturients—especially those with […]
Read More