Posts Tagged ‘Chronic Pain’
Chronic Pain Accelerates Dementia
It can be argued that the most common type of dementia is associated with chronic pain. The amount, or severity, of dementia appears to be associated with the severity and duration of chronic pain. Undertreated or untreated chronic pain may accelerate dementia.
Read MoreIs Your Medication Effective or Was It Placebo Effect?
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on April 31, 2019. Most of us have been prescribed a medicine at some time in our lives, and if we got better, we probably assumed it was because the medication was effective. However, this may not have been completely true. A…
Read MoreTherapies of the Heart
In a recent blog, I noted that I would share my thoughts about pain management education with the NIH. I did so. A slightly edited form of my letter to the NIH follows. In the original, I included a formal bibliography. In this version, I have used hyperlinks for your convenience.
Read MoreIs Postpartum Pain Control a Crap Shoot?
I worried that the hospital’s choice to lessen the amount of drugs prescribed, rather than focusing on patients’ clinical needs, might mean my daughter’s need for pain control would be unmet. The idea of my daughter enduring inadequately treated pain haunted me, as it would any father, but as a pain specialist, it may have troubled me even more.
Read MoreHonoring Our Veterans on Memorial Day
Those statistics are difficult to read anytime, but they seem especially troubling as the United States commemorates Memorial Day. This is the time for us to acknowledge that those who have served our country deserve the best medical care available.
Read MoreOregon’s Proposed Tapering Policy Is Still Undecided
Forced Tapering Proposal On March 14, 2019, the Oregon Health Authority Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC) had planned to vote on a proposal that could affect thousands of Medicaid patients in Oregon. The proposal would limit Medicaid coverage of opioids to 90 days for chronic pain patients. Those who have been using opioids for more…
Read MorePrevalence of Chronic Pain Increasing
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared on Pain News Network on February 22, 2019. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid prescribing quadrupled from 1999 to 2010. Some policymakers suggest that the amount prescribed in 1999 was appropriate and should remain static, and that any prescribing above the 1999 level exceeds the amount required to meet the needs of…
Read MoreAre Most Retired NFL Players Really Addicts?
We can probably attribute the use or misuse of opioids to the fact that these retired football players were trying to mitigate severe pain.
Read MoreMy Testimony Before the ADCOM for AcelRex’s DSUVIA
On Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, AcelRex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented its case to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee (ADCOM) to discuss the approval of the new drug application (NDA) 209128 for DSUVIA™. DSUVIA is a small sufentanil pill deposited below the tongue with an applicator. It is…
Read MoreHealth Professionals Call on the CDC to Address Misapplication of Its Guideline
Stefan G. Kertesz, MD Pens a Letter to the CDC Health Professionals Call on the CDC to Address Misapplication of Its Guideline on Opioids for Chronic Pain through Public Clarification and Impact Evaluation by Health Professionals for People in Pain is a letter that I recently had the privilege of signing. (Click here to see…
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