Addicts ‘not welcome’ in practices: survey
DRUG addicts “are not welcome in general practice” and more accessible specialist support would greatly facilitate GPs to prescribe opioid substitution therapy (OST), new Australian data shows.
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pain
The following articles have the tag pain
Addicts ‘not welcome’ in practices: survey
DRUG addicts “are not welcome in general practice” and more accessible specialist support would greatly facilitate GPs to prescribe opioid substitution therapy (OST), new Australian data shows.
Call for funds to manage pain
THE Australian Medicare Local Alliance has called for a dedicated funding pool specifically to ensure the primary healthcare network can take a central role managing the treatment of chronic pain.
Support strengthening for medicinal synthetic cannabis
THERE is widespread support for a synthetic form of cannabis to be approved for medical use, the chair of a NSW inquiry says.
Non-amputees experience ‘phantom limb’ sensation
AMPUTEES often experience ‘phantom limbs’, or the sensation that their missing limb is still present, but a Swedish study shows that even non-amputees can experience the bizarre sensation.
Medical marijuana bags seal of approval
ONE in five people using cannabis for medical purposes say their doctor recommended it, a study from the National Drug Research Institute (NDRI) has found.
Study backs benefits of acupuncture
ACUPUNCTURE gets a thumbs-up for helping relieve chronic headaches, backache and arthritis in a review of more than two dozen studies.
Opioids may promote tumours
OPIOIDS given to reduce pain in cancer patients may actually promote tumour growth and metastasis, two studies suggest.
Pain relief side effects outweigh benefits for RA patients
AUSTRALIAN researchers have warned that adverse events from muscle relaxants and neuromodulators are likely to outweigh their modest benefits in relieving pain among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Rules predict high-risk headache
THREE simple clinical decision rules can help doctors exclude subarachnoid haemorrhage, potentially saving patients presenting with a severe headache from unnecessary CT scans and lumbar punctures. Canadian researchers dev-eloped the three rules (see below) after studying almost 2000 headache patients, 130 of whom turned out to have subarachnoid haemorrhage. Using any one of the rules would have reduced investigation rates from 83% to as low as 64%, they said. Further work is ongoing to narrow it down to just one optimal rule to better guide doctors in their investigations. “This will improve care of patients ...
Women suffer in silence for years before endometriosis diagnosis
WOMEN with endometriosis typically suffer for years before diagnosis, a global study shows. The first worldwide study of the societal impact of the disease, involving 1400 women from 10 countries, found that diagnosis was delayed for an average seven years after onset of symptoms. One in five women presented with symptoms before the age of 19 years and two-thirds before the age of 30 years, the study found. Commenting, Adelaide gynaecologist Dr Susan Evans, author of Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain and a member of the Australian Faculty of Pain Medicine, said the disease was ...
Irritability fails as predictor of acute otitis media in children
APPARENT tell-tale symptoms such as ear tugging or restless sleep are not predictive of acute otitis media (AOM) in babies and toddlers, researchers say. A Finnish study of 500 children aged six months to 35 months found that many signs cited by concerned parents were not reliable indicators of AOM when put to the test of pneumatic otoscopy. Restless sleep and irritability, cited by 29% and 18% of parents respectively, were not predictive of AOM and neither were fever, ear rubbing or ear pain reported verbally by a child. In fact, ear rubbing tended to be more ...
The new analgesia: some will swear by it
MOST people have uttered an expletive when accidentally hammering a thumb but new research suggests there might be good reason. It appears that swearing may have evolved as a mechanism to deal with pain. Using an experimental design where 64 subjects submerged their hands in ice-cold water, US researchers found that, when repeatedly uttering a swear word, subjects could keep their hand submersed for longer than when they repeated a commonplace non-swear word. When they swore, the subjects not only experienced enhanced pain tolerance, but their heart rate also increased while their perception of pain dipped ...
Complex regional pain syndromes in children
THERAPEUTIC Guidelines: Analgesic version 5 includes a new section on complex regional pain syndromes and children. Complex regional pain syndromes are seen in young children, but are more common in adolescents. The presenting features in children and adolescents are similar to those in adults; however, the demographics and pattern of injury are different – there tends to be an even greater predominance of girls (4:1) compared with boys, and the condition tends to involve the lower limb more than the upper limb. Complex regional pain syndromes tend to occur in children who participate ...
Procedure-related pain in children
THERAPEUTIC Guidelines: Analgesic version 5 has an updated section on procedure-related pain in children. Pain caused by investigative and treatment procedures in children is an enormous issue, particularly in the hospital setting. Venepuncture, lumbar puncture, bone marrow aspiration, dressing changes, cannula and catheter insertions can become very distressing events, especially if they occur repeatedly. Poor analgesia for an initial procedure can diminish the efficacy of analgesia for subsequent procedures. The key to managing procedure-related pain in children is anticipation. Adequate systemic and/or local analgesic should be given long enough before the procedure for ...