Pain medicine : the official journal of the American Academy of Pain Medicine
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Elective surgical patients with unhealthy alcohol use have unique pain management needs and addiction risk factors that are relevant to surgical preparation and recovery. This descriptive qualitative study sought to better understand patients' beliefs and behaviors related to opioid use, alcohol use, and pain management in the perioperative context. ⋯ Appropriate assessment of beliefs and intentions regarding opioid and alcohol use could help identify patients most vulnerable to new opioid problems and unhealthy alcohol use in the context of perioperative surgical pain. These findings have important implications for perioperative pain management.
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Opioid specialty clinics have emerged as an approach for mitigating the risks associated with opioid therapies. Many opioid specialty clinics within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been described in the extant literature, yet veterans' experiences of these remain absent. This research study was undertaken to describe veterans' responses (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs) toward being evaluated in an opioid specialty clinic. ⋯ For veterans prescribed opioid therapies, this clinic served as an adjunct service for ensuring appropriate and safe prescribing. Data from this study can be used to inform interventions to promote veterans' understanding across the total opioid safety clinic experience-referral, actual visit, and follow-up.
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Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM), including mind-body medicine (MBM), is a treatment option that has been proved to alleviate symptoms in patients with low back and neck pain. ⋯ MBM is a popular treatment option for people with low back and neck pain. Practitioners of CIM are also being sought out by people with such complaints. Further research in this direction is relevant.
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Since the pioneering reports of the so-called leonine face in cluster headache (CH) patients, cranial and facial features of these patients have been poorly investigated with conflicting results. We aimed to investigate whether abnormalities in craniometric measurements could characterize male CH patients and represent reliable and reproducible diagnostic biomarkers able to identify CH patients. ⋯ The craniometric evaluation by means of brain 3D computed tomography could represent a widespread, noninvasive, and accurate tool to support CH diagnosis to avoid frequent misdiagnosis or delay in the diagnostic process.