Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Mar 2020
ReviewSustainable access to appropriate opioids for palliative care patients in Australia-preventing the need for crisis management.
The main goal of palliative care is to relieve suffering. Opioids are an essential part of the pharmacological options required to address suffering by helping to relieve the pain and chronic breathlessness that may be experienced by someone with a life-limiting illness. This paper considers the recent history and current issues of the 'opioid crisis' providing recommendations to which regulatory and peak bodies can work with the Australian government, ensuring consistent adherence to WHO guidelines maintaining access to evidence based opioid management for palliative care patients whilst actively avoiding unintended suffering restricted access can cause. ⋯ Compulsory palliative care education in undergraduate medical, nursing and allied health tertiary courses. Adequate, consistent stock of evidence based opioids for palliative care in community pharmacies and residential aged care facilities. These recommendations provide the regulatory guidance required to ensure persons with life limiting illness have continued access to safe and effective medication that can relieve suffering.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Sep 2019
ReviewThe Use of Propofol for Continuous Deep Sedation at the End of Life: A Definitive Guide.
The anesthetic propofol is used in a number of medical applications including surgery, procedural sedation, refractory status epilepticus, alcohol withdrawal, and critical care sedation. The manner in which it is dosed and administered in each environment varies, tailored to the specific task at hand. Because the use of propofol in end-of-life care is uncommon, providers may lack practical experience, and resources that are specific to this specialized application are not comprehensive and largely based on dosing and administration as it is done on the intensive care unit. The purpose of this review is to provide an evidence and experienced based reference for the specific use of propofol for end of life sedation.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Sep 2019
ReviewClinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Evaluation of Opioid Allergy Labels - A Review.
While opioids represent one of the most common medication allergy labels, these labels are often unsubstantiated in clinical practice. The removal of erroneous opioid allergy labels has a unique importance in the population with acute or chronic pain. The current approach to patients with pseudo-allergy to opioids is switching to an alternative opioid with less histamine release. ⋯ The low likelihood of true reactivity, combined with the conceivable clinical relevance of an opioid allergy label, calls for further characterization of this label in populations with acute or chronic pain diagnoses. Future directions should include larger prospective studies with systematic evaluation and classification of opioid allergy labels to determine future viability of opioid use. AbbreviationsEHRelectronic health recordNMBAneuromuscular blocking agentIgEimmunoglobulin EMCmast cellGPCRG-protein coupled receptorMRGPRX2mas-related G-protein receptorQAIquaternary ammonium ionsSCARsevere cutaneous adverse reactionAGEPacute generalized exanthematous pustulosisSDRIFEsymmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthemaBATbasophil activation testingDPTdrug provocation testing.
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Opioids are often the foundation of pain management in seriously ill patients. Unfortunately, even experienced providers carry with them information that they consider "fact", when this information is not based on scientific evidence, but on "myth". Several topics were elicited based on common beliefs and misconceptions in clinical practice. ⋯ They are intended to make readers give thought to opioid therapy which is strictly evidence-based, and not historical or anecdote-based. Practical recommendations are provided to give readers a starting point to base clinical decisions going forward. Readers may discover that "facts" they once learned about opioid use in seriously ill patients are actually "myths" that are a figment of the past.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Dec 2018
Meta AnalysisA Systematic Review of the Evidence Behind Use of Reduced Doses of Acetaminophen in Chronic Liver Disease.
Acetaminophen is among the most commonly used nonopioid analgesics, but significant variation exists in its prescribing practices for cirrhosis patients. Our primary objective was to describe the quality of evidence supporting or refuting the use of acetaminophen in patients with hepatic dysfunction. A comprehensive literature review of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts using the search terms "acetaminophen," "paracetamol," "chronic liver disease," "cirrhosis," and "hepatic disease" for studies describing changes in acetaminophen metabolism in patients with hepatic dysfunction was conducted. ⋯ The level of certainty for dosing recommendations obtainable from reviewing the evidence is low due to a small number of studies meeting search criteria, small samples sizes, inadequate information regarding cirrhosis etiology and compensated versus uncompensated liver disease, and lack of information on patient centered health outcomes. High-quality trials are not available to support the use of decreased acetaminophen doses in compensated cirrhosis patients. Acetaminophen can be a safe analgesic in patients with compensated hepatic dysfunction after careful analysis of patient-specific factors.