STUDY DESIGN Review and reinterpretation of existing literature. OBJECTIVE This review article summarizes the anatomy and pathogenesis of disease processes that contribute to low back pain, and discusses key issues in existing therapies for chronic low back pain. The article also explains the scientific rationale for investigational pharmacology and highlights emerging compounds in late devel...

This article discusses the diagnostic criteria, clinical course, and complications of complex regional pain syndrome. Multidisciplinary treatment including physical and occupational therapy, psychological evaluation and treatment, pharmacologic management, and more aggressive options including sympathetic blocks, sympathectomy, and spinal cord stimulation are also reviewed.

The prevention of pain in neonates should be the goal of all caregivers, because repeated painful exposures have the potential for deleterious consequences. Neonates at greatest risk of neurodevelopmental impairment as a result of preterm birth (ie, the smallest and sickest) are also those most likely to be exposed to the greatest number of painful stimuli in the NICU. Although there are major ...

The prevention of pain in neonates should be the goal of all caregivers, because repeated painful exposures have the potential for deleterious consequences. Neonates at greatest risk of neurodevelopmental impairment as a result of preterm birth (ie, the smallest and sickest) are also those most likely to be exposed to the greatest number of painful stimuli in the NICU. Although there are major ...

Greater understanding of the pathophysiology and mechanism of acute pain has led to advances in pharmacologic therapy. Understanding the principles of multimodal therapy along with surgical-specific protocols leads to improved outcome in patients. However, further large-scale randomized trials need to be performed to further establish and demonstrate the long-term benefit of multimodal therapy ...

Chronic pain is common in individuals with HIV infection. The primary goal of treatment of chronic pain is not only to improve pain but also to improve physical and emotional function. Patients with chronic pain should be assessed for concurrent psychiatric and substance use disorders, as these conditions often coexist. Treatment of chronic pain may have limited success in the absence of treatm...

Opioid analgesia is the primary pharmacologic intervention for managing pain. However, opioids can cause various adverse effects including pruritus, nausea, constipation, and sedation. Respiratory depression is the most fatal side effect. Therefore, cautious monitoring of respiratory status must be done after opioid administration. Here, we report a patient who suffered from respiratory depress...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the use and direct medical costs of pharmacologic and alternative treatments for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and chronic low back pain (CLBP). METHODS The LifeLink™ Health Plan Claims Database was used to identify patients ≥18 years old, diagnosed with OA (N = 112,951) or CLBP (N = 101,294). Of these patients, 64,085 with OA and 47,386 with CLBP received pain-relat...

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an interventional nonpharmacologic treatment used for chronic pain and other indications. Methods evaluating the safety efficacy of SCS have evolved from uncontrolled retrospective studies to prospective randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Although randomization overcomes certain types bias, additional challenges validity RCTs include blinding, choice control g...