Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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The top-line findings, arranged by date, from major national pain surveys published in 2005 and 2006 are reviewed. This report supplements the report on surveys published between 1996 and 2004 that appeared in Volume 21, Number 4, of the Journal.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2007
ReviewChronic administration of ketamine for analgesia.
Use of the dissociative anesthetic ketamine in subanesthetic doses has demonstrated efficacy in neuropathic pain. This article reviews the scientific and clinical literature on ketamine. ⋯ Studies of ketamine analgesia in postherpetic neuralgia, phantom pain, complex regional pain syndrome and cancer pain are reviewed. A range of administration methods for ketamine including neuroaxial administration are described.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2007
ReviewPalliative care pharmacotherapy literature summaries and analyses.
Timely and important studies are reviewed and commentaries provided by leading palliative care clinicians. Symptoms and treatment side effects addressed in this issue are: cardiovascular risk due to NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors; prolongation of the QT interval due to methadone use; depression and its treatment with scopolamine; adverse drug reactions related to cardiovascular medications, and their association with ethnicity; and medication nonadherence in Medicare enrollees due to cost considerations.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2007
ReviewAdverse effects of opioids on the central nervous systems of palliative care patients.
Opioids, defined as drugs that stimulate opioid receptors, are primarily used in the treatment of moderate to severe pain. They induce central nervous system (CNS) adverse effects which can be divided into three groups. ⋯ The third group is of the direct toxic effects of opioids on neurons and includes myoclonus (perhaps), hyperalgesia and tolerance. This review addresses the incidence, possible mechanisms, and treatment of each of these groups of opioid-induced adverse effects.
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Corticosteroids have been used extensively since cortisone was first synthesized in the 1950s. Glucocorticoids are derived from cortisone and are used in treatments for inflammation, dermatitis, allergic reactions, asthma, hepatitis, lupus erythematosus, nausea, vomiting and inflammatory bowel diseases. In the setting of palliative care, glucocorticoids have many uses, including many symptoms of malignancy, nausea, vomiting, depression, fatigue, anorexia and cachexia.