Articles related to PAIN MANAGEMENT

A clinical picture of the spontaneous pneumothorax, which is considered spontaneous if there is no apparent precipitating cause and can be easily missed on a chest radiograph unless there is a strong index of clinical suspicion. This article discusses risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment for the condition.

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.”

This is a 1.75-hour credit expert round-table featuring members of UPMC faculty. The group dialogue together on the state-of the art in pancreatic cancer and their experience in biliary stenting including advantages of metal versus plastic stenting, and their experience in recent advances in molecular testing of pancreatic cysts, identifying those patients that will benefit from targeted surveillance of pancreatic cancer, and methods of performing PDAC surveillance and their outcomes. They also discuss prevention and management of post-op complications, and pain control in this population.