Pain physician
-
Prescription drug misuse and abuse has reached epidemic levels in the U.S., and stands as a leading cause of death. As the primary gatekeepers to the medications contributing to this epidemic, it is critical to understand the views of licensed health care professionals. ⋯ Concern about prescription drug abuse is generally high across the major health care professions; however, a significant minority of providers, particularly among dentists, expressed little or no concern about the epidemic. Increasing health care providers' general level of concern about prescription drug abuse may be an effective public health tool for encouraging voluntary reductions in prescribing and/or dispensing controlled substances.
-
Multicenter Study
Usefulness of the Brief Pain Inventory in Patients with Opioid Addiction Receiving Methadone Maintenance Treatment.
Chronic pain is implicated as a risk factor for illicit opioid use among patients with opioid addiction treated with methadone. However, there exists conflicting evidence that supports and refutes this claim. These discrepancies may stem from the large variability in pain measurement reported across studies. ⋯ We caution the interpretation of these result since they are still reflective of participants already maintained on an opioid substitution therapy (OST), which can largely differ from patients who drop out of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) or never seek treatment altogether.
-
Since October 1, 2015, the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) was integrated into U. S. medical practices. This monumental transition seemingly occurred rather unceremoniously, despite significant opposition and reservations having been expressed by the provider community. ⋯ Nonetheless, this transition comes at an immeasurable financial and psychological drain on providers. However, a rude awakening may be making its way with expiration of initial concessions from government and private payers. This manuscript provides a template for interventional pain management professionals with multiple steps for seamless navigation, including descriptions of the most commonly used codes, navigation through ICD-10-CM manual, steps for correct coding, and finally, detailed coding descriptions for various interventional techniques.
-
The SCN9A gene product is a critical component in human pain perception. Recent studies found that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in this gene contributed to the risk and severity of common pain phenotypes. ⋯ The current study provides evidence that postoperative pain was affected by SCN9A variability in gynecological patients. Notably, our results provide the first indication that SCN9A SNP rs4286289 can be used as a predictor for hypersensitivity to postoperative pain.
-
Multicenter Study
Subjective Cognitive Symptoms During a Migraine Attack: A Prospective Study of a Clinic-Based Sample.
A migraine attack aggregates a range of different symptoms, besides pain, that contribute to attack-related disability. Cognitive dysfunction is an unacknowledged part of the migraine attack. ⋯ This study detailed the frequency and characteristics of migraine attack-related subjective cognitive symptoms and found its frequency to be similar to reports of other migraine defining symptoms (ex. nausea, photophobia) in recent clinical series. Patients' reports were consistent and dominated by complaints of attention difficulties, diminished cognitive efficiency, and processing speed impairment.