Current pain and headache reports
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Curr Pain Headache Rep · Apr 2008
ReviewDoes direct-to-consumer advertising affect patients' choice of pain medications?
In the United States, direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) has grown rapidly to promote prescription medications, including analgesics. Few studies in the literature directly examine the association between DTCA and patients' choice of pain medications. This article discusses how DTCA affects such choice from a behavioral perspective, because DTCA-prompted behaviors are important indicators of DTCA's influence. ⋯ Patients who suffer from pain may seek more communication with their health care providers because they are cautious about the information quality of DTCA, mainly because of the recall of rofecoxib (Vioxx; Merck, Whitehouse Station, NJ). However, the availability and DTCA of over-the-counter analgesics complicate their treatment choice. Patients could use DTCA as a tool to launch health communication and make an informed treatment choice with the guidance of their health care providers.
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By definition, cluster headache (CH) is not caused by underlying structural pathology. However, patients with CH or CH-like syndromes and an associated structural lesion have been described. ⋯ Based on this small retrospective series of case reports, it is impossible to give advice about neuroimaging. If neuroimaging is considered, MRI (not CT) is the investigation of choice.