Articles related to Pain Medicine

Sufentanil sublingual tablet 30 mcg (Dsuvia, AcelRx), an effective novel tablet formulation of the synthetic opioid sufentanil, has been given FDA approval for the management of severe acute pain in adult patients in licensed medically supervised healthcare settings. The medication is administered sublingually in a single-dose, prefilled applicator.

The knee arthritis meta-analysis reviewed 169 trials involving 21,163 patients, with the evidence demonstrating viscosupplementation is associated with a clinically irrelevant reduction in pain intensity and with an increased risk of serious adverse events compared with placebo. For the meniscus study, the commentary may sum it up best: “Multiple studies, including several with sham surgeries as a control have shown repeatedly over the previous 2 decades that surgery is not superior to physical therapy, yet the issue and use of surgery persist.”

The research shows that chronic pain, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer, and migraines all play a role in the development of mental diseases. Healthcare practitioners should take a careful history and keep in mind comorbidities when treating patients for any of these conditions.

The review, which we covered previously, concluded that “oral, synthetic cannabis products with high THC-to-CBD ratios and sublingual, extracted cannabis products with comparable THC-to-CBD ratios may be associated with short-term improvements in chronic pain and increased risk for dizziness and sedation.”

The story of “Dr. H,” an up-and-coming physician who was charged with 14 counts of murder in June 2019 after prescribing patients extremely high doses of fentanyl. The prosecution said Dr. H had intended to hasten or cause the deaths of the 14 patients, and it did not matter whether they were severely ill or close to dying. The defense argued the physician was merely relieving the patients’ suffering and that they died from their underlying diseases or being removed from ventilators. Who did the jury agree with?

The editorialists noted that, because of the slow pace of clinical trials, their findings will likely be the best available evidence for some time: “While we await better evidence, we believe that clinicians should meet patients with chronic pain ‘where they are.’ Conventional analgesic medications are effective only in a subset of persons…clinicians can compassionately witness, record, and offer guidance to help patients with chronic pain use cannabis wisely.”