Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain
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Although long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain has declined, it remains common in the U.S. Providers do not have clinical practice guidelines for vulnerable LTOT patients, in whom both LTOT continuation and tapering to discontinuation pose risks of harm and in whom opioid use disorder (OUD) is absent. ⋯ Evidence is needed to build on and test these experts' recommendations to attempt tapering and add non-opioid pain therapies for patients reporting harms of continued LTOT who may experience harms from tapering. Such evidence informs the development of clinical practice guidelines that provide comprehensive protocols to support the safety and functioning of this group of patients.
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Observational Study
A pilot study of novel ultrahigh-frequency dorsal root ganglia stimulation for chronic lower limb pain: Focusing on safety and feasibility.
This single-arm, open-label, single-center observational pilot study assessed the safety and efficacy of ultrahigh-frequency dorsal root ganglia (UHF-DRG) stimulation in patients with chronic leg pain with or without low back pain. Such high-frequency electrostimulation had not been conducted in the human central nervous system previously. ⋯ In this first-in-human pilot study, we discovered that intermittent pulsed UHF-DRG stimulations ameliorated chronic lower limb pain for an extended period in humans. Our finding opens up a new neuromodulatory concept and may initiate a novel paradigm for treating intractable pain.
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The fields of anesthesiology and pain medicine are experiencing significant changes driven by market forces and professional preferences. While demand for anesthesiologists is rising, pain medicine is facing a decline in fellowship applications. ⋯ The decline in pain medicine fellowship applications, particularly among anesthesiology residents, signals potential future workforce shortages and challenges in patient care. Recruitment strategies should include early exposure to pain medicine during residency, enhanced mentorship programs, and robust recruitment efforts (including virtual options). Addressing these issues is essential to ensure enough trained specialists to meet the growing need for pain specialists nationally.