February 2012 Briefing - Pain Management

Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Pain Management for February 2012. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.

Sleeping Pill Use Linked to Greater Mortality Risk

TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Even relatively small doses of sleeping pills are associated with a more than three-fold higher risk of death, according to a study published online Feb. 27 in BMJ Open.

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Low Back Pain Counseling Strategy Ups Return to Work

MONDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Combining a disability evaluation with proactive counseling for workers with low back pain (LBP) results in a higher return-to-work rate, which is statistically significant at one year, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in Spine.

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Multimodal Palliative Approach OK for Advanced Esophageal CA

MONDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with advanced esophageal cancer, use of an individualized, multimodal approach with palliative intention achieves an acceptable mean survival time, with initial use of photodynamic therapy (PDT) offering significantly longer median survival compared to other modalities, according to the results of a single medical center study published online Feb. 14 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

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Pharmacist-Led Intervention Reduces Medical Errors

TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- For clinics with computerized medical records, a pharmacist-led intervention significantly reduces the risk of medical errors and is likely to be cost-effective, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in The Lancet.

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Classification-Based Therapy No Better for Back Pain

MONDAY, Feb. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment of patients with lower back pain (LBP) using a classification-based physical therapy approach shows no statistically significant superiority to treatment with usual physical therapy care, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in Spine.

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Overdose Prevention Programs Using Opioid Antagonist

THURSDAY, Feb. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Naloxone, an opioid antagonist, is being used by at least 188 overdose prevention programs in the United States, but many states with high death rates due to heroin or other opioid overdose do not include naloxone distribution in their programs, according to research published in the Feb. 17 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report.

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Biomarker Linked to Arthritis Severity at Hip but Not Knee

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 15 (HealthDay News) -- A new biomarker is associated with osteoarthritis severity at the hip but not the knee, according to a study published in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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Fibromyalgia Symptoms More Severe in Obese Patients

TUESDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with fibromyalgia who are severely obese have more severe symptoms and lower quality of life (QOL), according to a study published in the February issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

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Risk of Collision Doubles for Drivers Using Cannabis

FRIDAY, Feb. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Drivers under the influence of cannabis are twice as likely to be involved in motor vehicle collisions, particularly fatal collisions, according to research published online Feb. 9 in BMJ.

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Intracerebroventricular Opioid Infusion Feasible at Home

THURSDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of opioids is safe and effective for the treatment of nonresponsive pain in terminally-ill patients in home settings, according to a review published online Feb. 1 in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

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Polyethylene Glycol Repairs Severed Nerves in Rats

TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Polyethylene glycol (PEG) may be useful for repairing severed nerves, according to two experimental studies published online Feb. 3 in the Journal of Neuroscience Research.

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Subcortical Gray Matter Changes Seen in RA Patients

TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Compared with healthy control subjects, patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have reduced intracranial volumes and structural changes in the subcortical gray matter, but do not have localized cortical gray matter atrophy, according to research published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

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Massage Reduces Inflammation Following Hard Exercise

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Massage therapy following strenuous exercise reduces inflammation and promotes the growth of new mitochondria in skeletal muscle, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

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Weight Loss Impacts Leg Muscle, Strength in Knee OA

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, a 16-week low-energy diet program results in independent losses of leg muscle tissue and strength, and is accompanied by improvements in body mass-normalized muscle strength, according to research published in the February issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

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RA Drug Trial Funding Source Not Linked to Outcome

MONDAY, Feb. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug therapy randomized controlled trials (RCTs) funded by industry are not more likely to result in a positive outcome, according to research published online Jan. 24 in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

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