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Pain Management

Home Pain Management
Some reassuring words from a doctor just before an operation begins may be more effective than drugs in easing patient anxiety

ASA: Surgeon’s Calming Words May Ease Stress of Surgery

Researchers found reassuring voice might even beat anti-anxiety meds in lowering pre-op distress
Body mass index

Lifestyle Factors Not Linked to Chronic Prostatitis/Pelvic Pain

No correlations seen in large cohort study of U.S. male health professionals
The importance of thanking patients for coming to see you

Physician Emphasizes Importance of Saying Thank You

Doctor reports feeling deeper connection to his patients; improvement in patient satisfaction score
A perioperative surgical home program improves outcomes for patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty

ASA: Peri-Op Surgical Home Beneficial After Joint Arthroplasty

Data for second year of implementation show positive results in LOS, discharge destination
Eight reasons associated with patient's intentional nonadherence to medications have been identified in a report published by the American Medical Association.

AMA: Eight Reasons for Nonadherence to Medications

Reasons include fear of side effects, costs, misunderstanding of the need for medications
Total knee replacement usually results in greater pain relief and better joint function after a year than nonsurgical arthritis treatment

Pain Relief, Function Up Post Knee Replacement in Arthritis

But risks make physical therapy a viable option, researchers say
Naproxen alone appears to provide as much relief for low back pain as naproxen plus oxycodone/acetaminophen or cyclobenzaprine

Opioid Added to Rx Naproxen No Help in Low Back Pain

Adding cyclobenzaprine, oxycodone/acetaminophen to naproxen alone does not improve outcomes
For patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis

Knee, Hip Arthroplasty Tied to Increased Short-Term MI Risk

Increased risk of myocardial infarction in first post-op month; but not during overall follow-up
Opioid use is widespread among patients with newly diagnosed fibromyalgia

Opioid Prescriptions Common With Fibromyalgia

Patients taking opioids are less likely to subsequently receive guideline-recommended therapy
Blunt-tip and pencil-point needles have comparable risks of inadvertent vascular injection during lumbosacral transforaminal injections

Needle Type Doesn’t Change Epidural Vascular Uptake Risk

Similar risk of inadvertent vascular injection seen with blunt-tip, pencil-point needles