Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Dec 2022
Integration of Pharmacy Student Interns into a Naloxone Telephone Outreach Service.
Opioid overdose remains a significant public health issue in the United States and is the leading cause of accidental death. Naloxone has become increasingly accessible, with greater emphasis placed by health systems and pharmacies on distribution of the safety tool. While the utility of pharmacists in advancing this work is clear, there is limited research on the success of integrating pharmacy students into a naloxone outreach program. ⋯ Of the 118 reached by telephone, 92 (78.0%) accepted naloxone and 26 (22.0%) declined. In total, 150 (93.8%) patients received naloxone education via either telephone discussion or letter. Integrating supervised pharmacy student interns into a naloxone telephone outreach service was feasible for interns and CPPs and resulted in a high naloxone acceptance rate.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Dec 2022
Meta AnalysisSuperior Hypogastric Plexus Block for Pain Management Post-Hysterectomy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of superior hypogastric plexus (SHP) block in pain relief among women undergoing hysterectomy. Cochrane Library, PubMed, ISI web of science, and Scopus were searched from inception to May 2021 for the available randomized clinical trials (RCTs). We included RCTs that compared SHP block (intervention group) to saline (control group) in hysterectomy. ⋯ However, no significant difference was reported in VAS pain score 1 day postoperatively between intervention and control groups. Moreover, SHP block significantly reduced the postoperative opioid consumption and incidence of nausea and vomiting (p = 0.03 & p = 0.003). In conclusion, superior hypogastric plexus block effectively reduces postoperative pain, opioid consumption, and incidence of nausea and vomiting post-hysterectomy.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Dec 2022
Impact of Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner-Driven High Opioid Dose Reevaluation in Veterans with Chronic Non-Cancer Pain.
Veterans Health Administration implemented the Opioid Safety Initiative (OSI) in 2013 to promote safe/rational opioid prescribing. West Palm Beach VA Healthcare System (WPBVAHCS) has been an outlier for the percentage of Veterans with chronic non-cancer pain receiving ≥90 mg Morphine Equivalent Daily Dosing (MEDD) in Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN) 8 since the 2016 fiscal year. The purpose was to determine the utility of a Pain Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner (CPP) identifying, reviewing, and approaching Veterans utilizing high-dose opioids for dose reevaluation and the impact on OSI metric post-opioid reevaluation. ⋯ No documented opioid overdose events, hospitalizations for uncontrolled pain or mental health, suicide attempts or pain-related crisis interventions were reported. Pain CPP's are equipped to provide opioid education, address risk mitigation strategies, reassess pain regimens, and refer for non-pharmacologic modalities. Utilization of Pain CPP resources helps improve OSI metrics while providing safe comprehensive medication management (CMM) for chronic pain.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Dec 2022
Impact of Hydroxyurea Starting Dose on Pain Outcomes in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease.
In patients with sickle cell disease, hydroxyurea decreases the number of pain crises experienced. This study aimed to evaluate the difference in pain outcomes between patients started on a guideline concordant, weight-based starting dose of at least 15 mg/kg/day of hydroxyurea and those not. The first prescription of hydroxyurea was the baseline date, follow-up was a visit 60-120 days after baseline. ⋯ No statistically significant difference in opioid prescribing was observed between those started on a guideline concordant dose of hydroxyurea and those who were not. In the guideline concordant starting dose group, 42% had a reduction in pain scores at first follow up, compared to 35% with a non-guideline recommended starting dose. (p = 0.41). While this difference is in the direction that would be expected based on the guidelines, the difference does not appear to be clinically meaningful.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Sep 2022
Evaluation of Guideline-Recommended Pain Management in Acute Sickle Cell Crisis and Its Effect on Patient Outcomes.
This was a retrospective, multi-site observational cohort of 233 encounters of patients with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) who received analgesia for acute pain crisis related to SCD from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019. Patient encounters were categorized based on whether they received analgesia within guideline directed 60 minutes of emergency department (ED) arrival. The primary outcome was time to a pain score reduction of ≥30% on the numerical rating scale. ⋯ We found that patients with a history of substance use disorder documented in their chart were less likely to receive timely analgesia. Our study indicated that when patients with SCD received analgesia in accordance with guideline recommendations, pain goals were achieved faster with an improvement in outcomes. Providing optimal care can be difficult, but education and standardized policies may help mitigate this gap.