Treatment Of Postsurgical Pain Research Articles

ID: 216388 Treatment of Post-Surgical Pain Following Mastectomy With 10 kHz Spinal Cord Stimulation: A Case Study

Post-surgical pain (PSP) following mastectomy is often neuropathic1 and focally located around the chest wall, armpit and or arm2. High-frequency spinal cord stimulation (10kHz SCS) could potentially be used as a treatment option for this indication as pre-clinical evidence for 10kHz SCS demonstrates an inhibitory effect of interneurons in the dorsal horn providing a useful mechanism of action (MOA) for paresthesia-free neuropathic pain relief3. Here we present a case study detailing the successful use of 10kHz SCS in the treatment of PSP following mastectomy.

Značaj postoperativnog bola i mogućnosti prevencije i lečenja

The paper presents the importance of acute postoperative pain, the risk factors for its occurrence and intensity, instruments for its measurement and assessment, as well as the possibilities of prevention and treatment. The fact that post-surgical pain represents not only a subjective unpleasant experience for the patient, but also a factor that significantly contributes to complications and unfavorable outcomes of surgical treatment is well known. Despite that, postoperative pain can be seen very often. To successfully prevent and relieve pain, it is necessary to establish a possible cause-and-effect relationship between the occurrence and intensity of postoperative pain, type of surgical intervention, anesthesia technique, demographic characteristics of patients, comorbidities, chronic therapy, and family and socioeconomic factors. Besides the application of recommendations from the current guidelines and protocols for the prevention and treatment of post-surgical pain to achieve positive treatment outcomes, an individual approach to each patient and the application of multimodal analgesia techniques that include the use of different classes of analgesics, co-analgesics, and non-pharmacological measures, based on modern ERAS-protocols aimed at accelerated recovery after surgical intervention should also be employed.

Peripheral tetrahydrobiopterin is involved in the pathogenesis of mechanical hypersensitivity in a rodent postsurgical pain model.

Because treatment for postsurgical pain (PSP) remains a major unmet medical need, the emergence of safe and innovative nonopioid drugs has been strongly coveted. Tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) is an interesting molecule for gaining a better understanding the pathological mechanism of neuropathic pain. However, whether BH4 and its pathway are involved in the pathogenesis of PSP remains unclear. In this study, we found that early in a rat paw incision model, the gene expression of GTP cyclohydrolase 1 (GTPCH) and sepiapterin reductase (SPR), BH4-producing enzymes in the de novo pathway, were significantly increased in incised compared with naive paw skin. Although a significant increase in GTPCH protein levels was observed in incised paw skin until only 1 day after incision, a significant increase in BH4 levels was observed until 7 days after incision. In vivo, Spr-knockout mice showed an antinociceptive phenotype in the hind paw incision compared with the wild-type and Spr heterozygote groups. Furthermore, QM385, the SPR inhibitor, showed a significant dose-dependent, antinociceptive effect, which was supported by a reduction in BH4 levels in incised skin tissues, with no apparent adverse effects. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that macrophages expressing GTPCH protein were increased around the injury site in the rat paw incision model. These results indicate that BH4 is involved in the pathogenesis of PSP, and that inhibition of the BH4 pathway could provide a new strategy for the treatment of acute PSP.

Chronic Post-Surgical Pain in the Frail Older Adult.

Older adults are the fastest growing segment of the population and surgical procedures in this group increase each year. Chronic post-surgical pain is an important consideration in the older adult as it affects recovery, physical functioning, and overall quality of life. It is increasingly recognized as a public health issue but there is a need to improve our understanding of the disease process as well as the appropriate treatment and prevention. Frailty, delirium, and cognition influence post-operative outcomes in older adults and have been implicated in the development of chronic post-surgical pain. Further research must be conducted to fully understand the role they play in the occurrence of chronic post-surgical pain in the older adult. Additionally, careful attention must be given to the physiologic, cognitive, and comorbidity differences between the older adult and the general population. This is critical for elucidating the proper chronic post-surgical pain treatment and prevention strategies to ensure that the older adult undergoing surgical intervention will have an appropriate and desirable post-operative outcome.

The Preclinical Pharmacological Study of a Novel Long-Acting Local Anesthetic, a Fixed-Dose Combination of QX-OH/Levobupivacaine, in Rats.

Introduction: Previous studies demonstrated that 35 mM QX-OH/10 mM Levobupivacaine (LL-1), a fixed-dose combination, produced a long-acting effect in rat local anesthesia models. All preclinical pharmacodynamic results indicated that LL-1 had potential for postsurgical pain treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics of LL-1. Then, the possible mechanism of the extended duration by the combination was examined. Methods and Results: All experiments were examined and approved by the Committee of Animal Care of the West China Hospital Sichuan University (Ethical approval number, 2015014A). The compound action potentials were recorded to verify the pharmacodynamic result in ex vivo. In frog sciatic nerve, LL-1 produced an effective inhibition with rapid onset time. The concentration-time profiles of LL-1 were determined in plasma and local tissues after sciatic nerve block. The maximum concentration of QX-OH and levobupivacaine were 727.22 ± 43.38 µg/g and 256.02 ± 28.52 µg/g in muscle, 634.26 ± 36.04 µg/g and 429.63 ± 48.64 µg/g in sciatic nerve, and 711.71 ± 25.14 ng/ml and 114.40 ± 10.19 ng/ml in plasma, respectively. The absorption of QX-OH into circulation was very rapid at 0.71 ± 0.06 h, which was faster than that of levobupivacaine (4.11 ± 0.39 h, p = 0.003). The half-time of QX-OH in plasma and local tissues had no significant difference (p = 0.329), with the values of 2.64 h, 3.20 h, and 3.79 h in plasma, muscle, and sciatic nerve, respectively. The elimination profile of levobupivacaine differed from that of QX-OH, which was slower eliminated from plasma (4.89 ± 1.77 h, p = 0.036) than from muscle (1.38 ± 0.60 h) or sciatic nerve (1.28 ± 0.74 h). When levobupivacaine was used alone, the Tmax in plasma was 1.07 ± 0.16 h. Interestingly, the Tmax of levobupivacaine in the plasma was increased by four times in combination with QX-OH (4.11 ± 0.39 h). Levobupivacaine promotes cellular QX-OH uptake. Conclusion: The preclinical pharmacokinetic study of LL-1 in the rat plasma, muscle, and sciatic nerve was accomplished. Then, the possible mechanism of the prolonged duration was that QX-OH delayed the absorption of levobupivacaine from the injection site into circulation, and levobupivacaine accelerated QX-OH to accumulate into cells.

Health Care Burden Associated with Outpatient Opioid Use Following Inpatient or Outpatient Surgery.

The treatment of postsurgical pain with prescription opioids has been associated with persistent opioid use and increased health care utilization and costs. To compare the health care burden between opioid-naive adult patients who were prescribed opioids after a major surgery and opioidnaive adult patients who were not prescribed opioids. Administrative claims data from the IBM Watson Health MarketScan Research Databases for 2010-2016 were used. Opioid-naive adult patients who underwent major inpatient or outpatient surgery and who had at least 1 year of continuous enrollment before and after the index surgery date were eligible for inclusion. Cohorts were defined based on an opioid pharmacy claim between 7 days before index surgery and 1 year after index surgery (opioid use during surgery and inpatient use were not available). To ensure an opioid-naive population, patients with opioid claims between 365 and 8 days before surgery were excluded. Acute medical outcomes, opioid utilization, health care utilization, and costs were measured during the post-index period (index surgery hospitalization and day of index outpatient surgery not included). Predicted costs were estimated from multivariable log-linked gamma-generalized linear models. The final sample consisted of 1,174,905 opioid-naive patients with an inpatient surgery (73% commercial, 20% Medicare, 7% Medicaid) and 2,930,216 opioid-naive patients with an outpatient surgery (74% commercial, 23% Medicare, and 3% Medicaid). Opioid use after discharge was common among all 3 payer types but was less common among Medicare patients (63% inpatient/43% outpatient) than patients with commercial (80% inpatient/75% outpatient) or Medicaid insurance (86% inpatient/81% outpatient). Across all 3 payers, opioid users were younger, were more likely to be female, and had a higher preoperative comorbidity burden than nonopioid users. In unadjusted analyses, opioid users tended to have more hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and pharmacy claims. Adjusted predicted 1-year post-period total health care costs were significantly higher (P< 0.001) for opioid users than nonopioid users for commercial insurance (inpatient: $22,209 vs. $14,439; outpatient: $13,897 vs. $8,825), Medicare (inpatient: $31,721 vs. $26,761; outpatient: $24,529 vs. $15,225), and Medicaid (inpatient: $13,512 vs. $9,204; outpatient: $11,975 vs. $8,212). Filling an outpatient opioid prescription (vs. no opioid prescription) in the 1 year after inpatient or outpatient surgery was associated with increased health care utilization and costs across all payers. Funding for this study was provided by Heron Therapeutics, which participated in analysis and interpretation of data, drafting, reviewing, and approving the publication. All authors contributed to the development of the publication and maintained control over the final content. Brummett is a paid consultant for Heron Therapeutics and Recro Pharma and reports receipt of research funding from MDHHS (Sub K Michigan Open), NIDA (Centralized Pain Opioid Non-Responsiveness R01 DA038261-05), NIH0DHHS-US-16 PAF 07628 (R01 NR017096-05), NIH-DHHS (P50 AR070600-05 CORT), NIH-DHHS-US (K23 DA038718-04), NIH-DHHS-US-16-PAF06270 (R01 HD088712-05), NIH-DHHS-US-17-PAF02680 (R01 DA042859-05), and UM Michigan Genomics Initiative and holding a patent for peripheral perineural dexmedetomidine. Oderda is a paid consultant for Heron Therapeutics. Pawasauskas is a paid consultant to Heron Therapeutics and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. England and Evans-Shields are employees of Heron Therapeutics. Kong, Lew, Zimmerman, and Henriques are employees of IBM Watson Health, which was compensated by Heron Therapeutics for conducting this research. Portions of this work were presented as a poster at the AMCP Managed Care and Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting 2019; March 25-28, 2019; San Diego, CA.

Tramadol:Paracetamol in drinking water for treatment of post-surgical pain in laboratory mice

In the search for stress-free analgesia administration for laboratory mice suffering pain, oral delivery of Tramadol:Paracetamol (T:P) shows great promise. Here, we monitored the analgesic efficacy and side effects of a T:P combination administered solely in the drinking water of female C57BL/6J mice after moderate-impact surgery (sham embryo transfer), using clinical and behavioral pain and recovery parameters. Animals underwent anesthesia and surgery with T:P treatment (OP+T:P), received no pain relief after surgery (OP), underwent anesthesia only with T:P treatment (An+T:P) or T:P treatment only (T:P). Indicators of pain and constraint were assessed at several time points during 24h after surgery.T:P-containing drinking water was consumed readily in amounts to assure sufficient drug levels. No obvious detrimental side effects of analgesia were observed. General condition of animals differed only slightly and non-significantly between treatment groups, with comparable post-procedural weight loss, water and food intake as well as home cage activity. Mean nest scores differed significantly between T:P and both surgery groups (p=0.002, p<0.0001) but revealed no significant difference between OP and OP+T:P groups. Nevertheless, pain scores showed significant differences between the treatment groups at 1, 3 and 6h after surgery (p=0.001, p=0.014, p=0.003). OP animals scored highest, while scores of OP+T:P animals were comparable or lower than scores of the AN+T:P group. Same was true for burrowing latency that was significantly increased in OP animals compared to An+T:P and OP+T:P (p=0.032, p=0.019), but comparable between An+T:P and OP+T:P. These results hint on a clear post-surgical pain effect after surgery that could be significantly reduced with T:P treatment towards a level of the control group receiving anesthesia and T:P only.In conclusion, we assume that orally administered T:P offers pain relief with no obvious side effects after mild-to-moderate impact surgery in female C57BL/6J mice.

A Review of Adjunctive CNS Medications Used for the Treatment of Post-Surgical Pain.

Inadequate post-operative pain management can have significant impacts on patients' quality of life. Effective management of acute pain after surgery is important for early mobilization and discharge from hospital, patient satisfaction, and overall well-being. Utilizing multimodal analgesic strategies has become the mainstay of acute post-operative pain management. A comprehensive search was performed, assessing the published or otherwise publically available literature on different central nervous system (CNS) drugs [excluding opioids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and acetaminophen] and their uses to treat acute post-surgical pain. Included among the drugs evaluated in this review are anticonvulsants, N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) agonists, local anesthetics, α2-agonists, cannabinoids, serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), and serotonin-noradrenaline-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (SNDRIs). Timing, dosing, routes of administration, as well as mechanisms of action are discussed for these CNS drugs.

Analgesic Effects of Intravenous Acetaminophen vs Placebo for Endoscopic Sinus Surgery and Postoperative Pain

Intravenous acetaminophen is a commonly prescribed analgesic for the prevention and treatment of postsurgical pain. Its efficacy in the context of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) has yielded mixed results. To compare the efficacy of perioperative intravenous acetaminophen (IVAPAP) with that of placebo in improving early postoperative pain after endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). A prospective, randomized clinical trial including 62 patients undergoing ESS for chronic rhinosinusitis in a single tertiary referral hospital. Participants were randomized to receive 1 g of IVAPAP or 100 mL of placebo consisting of saline infusions immediately before the start of surgery and 4 hours after the initial dose. The primary outcome was postoperative pain measured by visual analog scale (VAS) scores up to 24 hours after surgery by blinded observers. Secondary endpoints included postoperative opioid (intravenous and oral) use and adverse events in the 24-hour postoperative period. Of the 62 enrolled adult participants, 60 were randomized (31 to IVAPAP intervention and 29 to placebo). The mean (SD) age of participants was 53.7 (14.7) years and 35 (58%) of the participants were men and 25 (42%) were women. Within the first hour, mean pain scores were reduced in the IVAPAP group compared with the control group, reaching a maximum difference of 7.7 mm on a VAS scale favoring the treatment group with a true difference possibly as high as 22 mm, and the data are compatible with a clinically meaningful difference. At 12- and 24-hours, average pain scores were less in the placebo group and the data are compatible with a clinically meaningful difference of 5.8 (-5.2 to 16.8) and 8.2 (-1.9 to 18.4), respectively, favoring the placebo group. However, at all time points the CIs included the null value and were wide, thus preventing definitive conclusions. Inspection of the secondary outcomes favored IVAPAP, but the wide range of the CIs and inclusion of the null value prevent definitive conclusions. The results of this study are inconclusive. The data suggest that perioperative intravenous acetaminophen may reduce immediate postoperative pain and opioid requirements compared with placebo and these differences could be clinically meaningful. Unfortunately, the imprecision of the estimates prevents definitive conclusion. Use of IVAPAP does not seem to increase adverse events. clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01608308.

Neurostimulation for Postsurgical Analgesia: A Novel System Enabling Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Peripheral Nerve Stimulation.

While neurostimulation—stimulation of the nervous system using electrical current—has been used to treat chronic pain, its use treating postsurgical pain has been limited. Here, we report on the clinical application of a novel investigational lead to provide analgesia following total knee arthroplasty. In 5 subjects, leads were inserted percutaneously using ultrasound guidance within 0.5 to 3.0 cm of the femoral and/or sciatic nerve(s). With the delivery of current, pain decreased an average of 63% at rest, with 4 of 5 subjects having relief of > 50%. During passive and active knee flexion, pain decreased an average of 14% and 50%, with 0/3 and 1/2 subjects attaining > 50% relief, respectively. Ultrasound‐guided percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation may be a practical modality for the treatment of postsurgical pain.

Extending postoperative opioid analgesia in dogs 2. Transdermal drug administration

Opioid drugs are pivotal to the effective management of acute pain in dogs, and, for this reason, they are the ‘gold standard’ agents for the treatment of postsurgical pain. While...

Pain Intensity on the First Day after Surgery

Severe pain after surgery remains a major problem, occurring in 20-40% of patients. Despite numerous published studies, the degree of pain following many types of surgery in everyday clinical practice is unknown. To improve postoperative pain therapy and develop procedure-specific, optimized pain-treatment protocols, types of surgery that may result in severe postoperative pain in everyday practice must first be identified. This study considered 115,775 patients from 578 surgical wards in 105 German hospitals. A total of 70,764 patients met the inclusion criteria. On the first postoperative day, patients were asked to rate their worst pain intensity since surgery (numeric rating scale, 0-10). All surgical procedures were assigned to 529 well-defined groups. When a group contained fewer than 20 patients, the data were excluded from analysis. Finally, 50,523 patients from 179 surgical groups were compared. The 40 procedures with the highest pain scores (median numeric rating scale, 6-7) included 22 orthopedic/trauma procedures on the extremities. Patients reported high pain scores after many "minor" surgical procedures, including appendectomy, cholecystectomy, hemorrhoidectomy, and tonsillectomy, which ranked among the 25 procedures with highest pain intensities. A number of "major" abdominal surgeries resulted in comparatively low pain scores, often because of sufficient epidural analgesia. Several common minor- to medium-level surgical procedures, including some with laparoscopic approaches, resulted in unexpectedly high levels of postoperative pain. To reduce the number of patients suffering from severe pain, patients undergoing so-called minor surgery should be monitored more closely, and postsurgical pain treatment needs to comply with existing procedure-specific pain-treatment recommendations.

Técnica del catéter de analgesia intraincisional. Una alternativa para el control del dolor postoperatorio en cirugía de la mama

IntroductionPostoperative analgesia in breast surgery is still a challenge. We present a technique for continuous perfusion of anaesthetics through an “in situ” placed catheter, as an alternative to the current analgesic methods in breast surgery. Case reportsCase 1. A 59 year old woman with carcinoma in the right breast and negative axillary nodes had a right mastectomy and an interpectoral analgesia catheter was inserted. Case 2. A 52 year old woman with carcinoma in the right breast and positive axillary nodes. A right Madden mastectomy was performed and an interpectoral and right axillary analgesia catheter was inserted. The catheter was removed 48 hours later with no complications. ConclusionsThe use of continuous perfusion in surgical wounds by means of a multiperforated catheter is an effective option for the treatment of post-surgical pain in breast surgery. This technique reduces the requirements, and potential side effects, of systemic anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids.

Evaluation of DepoFoam ® Bupivacaine for the Treatment of Postsurgical Pain

SUMMARYAn extended-release, multivesicular liposome-encapsulated form of the local anesthetic bupivacaine, DepoFoam(®) bupivacaine (proposed proprietary name EXPAREL™), is in development for use as part of a multimodal regimen for the treatment of postsurgical pain. Placebo- and active-controlled clinical trials in patients who have undergone either orthopedic or soft-tissue procedures indicate that a single local administration into the surgical site results in analgesic activity for up to 3-4 days and decreases the use of opioid rescue medication. The safety profile of DepoFoam bupivacaine appears to be similar to that of bupivacaine HCl, and adverse events are dose-related.

Pregabalin for the treatment of postsurgical pain

Importance of the field: Multimodal postoperative pain management targeted at diminishing harmful outcomes should include pregabalin in cases that need opioid reduction and when the risk of developing chronic neuropathic postsurgical pain is present. Gabapentanoids have grown in importance due to their opioid-sparing effects. They may also contribute to the prevention of chronic postsurgical pain.Areas covered in this review: We reviewed the literature regarding the use of gabapentanoids and their role in treatment modalities in acute postsurgical pain. Dosing, therapeutic efficacy, side effects, and their role within a multimodal regimen are discussed. Particular emphasis is placed on their ability to provide an opioid-sparing effect, as well as on their potential for inhibiting chronic neuropathic pain. A Pubmed search of pregabalin, gabapentin, acute pain, multimodal analgesia, chronic postsurgical pain, and neuropathic pain between 2000 and 2010 was done. Relevant articles – including randomized controlled trials, retrospective trials, case series, case reports, and review articles – were filtered to include those that relate to postsurgical pain.What the reader will gain: Readers will gain an increased appreciation of the role of pregabalin in postsurgical pain in patients at risk of developing chronic pain.Take home message: Pregabalin is a safe and effective medication that may decrease perioperative opioid use in patients with more acute neuropathic pain than acute inflammatory pain. When surgery involves more neuropathic-type acute pain there is growing evidence that pregabalin may decrease the incidence of chronic pain.

La población fibromiálgica ante la cirugía. Estudio descriptivo y análisis del dolor posoperatorio en histerectomías

Objective This study attempts to determine, firstly, the prevalence, and clinical and demographic profile of the fibromyalgia population in our health area subjected to major surgery, and secondly, to analyse the characteristics of the pain of fibromyalgia patients after abdominal hysterectomy, and comparing them with a control group. Material and method A retrospective study conducted over the period January 2006 to May 2008, selecting cases with a previously established diagnose of fibromyalgia recorded in the Anaesthesia medical records. A standardised telephone interview was then carried out, in which the demographic, clinical and medical data was collected, paying particular attention to the treatment and follow-up of their fibromyalgia, as well as noting the post-surgical pain. A comparative study on the efficacy of the treatment of post-surgical pain, using a an intravenous (iv) PCA (Patient Controlled Analgesia) system with Tramadol and Metamizole, of patients with fibromyalgia who had an abdominal hysterectomy versus a control group. Results Out of a total of 11,814 anaesthesia medical records were reviewed, there was a prevalence of 0.86% of the disease during the study period. The average clinical profile was: middle-aged woman, overweight, musculoskeletal and accompanying psychiatric disease, generally assessed as anaesthetic risk ASA II, on follow-up due to her fibromyalgia disease by her primary care doctor, multiple medication with NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), tranquillisers and muscle relaxants, and poorly controlled pain. The comparative study of post-operative pain in hysterectomies showed a similar efficacy in the treatment of both groups. However the patients with fibromyalgia requested 45% more analgesia by PCA than the control group. Conclusions Patients with fibromyalgias could need a greater amount of analgesics than the general population after an abdominal hysterectomy. The PCA system enables a more individualised treatment to be chosen, since the patients can control the amount of analgesia they need depending on their pain, without increasing secondary effects.

¿Se debe mantener la analgesia epidural como técnica de base en la UDA?

Epidural analgesia has become a routine process in the peri-operative management of surgical patients which has been extended from the operating rooms and high dependency units to hospital wards. The irruption into this new scenario has improved post-surgical analgesia with acceptable safety margins, and has secured a predominant place in the analgesia guidelines of Acute Pain Units (APU). Epidural analgesia with local anaesthetics and opioids, compared to systemic with opioids, has historically been more effective, with a decrease in complications due to the reduction in surgical stress and the improved cardiorespiratory function. However, as well as these these advantages, epidural analgesia also has some disadvantages such as lowering of blood pressure or urinary retention, along with potentially serious ones arising from neurological damage caused by epidural haematoma, infection or direct injury of the nerve tissue. Although its advantages have been consistent and solid, it does seem to be the case today. The advances made in minimally invasive surgery, with earlier hospital discharge, together with multimodal strategies, are leading to the re-establishment of the use of techniques such as epidural and a re-evaluation of its indications. The latest evidence leads us to believe that epidural analgesia has reached its limit in the treatment of post-surgical pain and will begin to lose ground with the introduction of equally effective techniques, with less complications and secondary effects. This will be a slow process in which it must be assured that the alternative analgesics really give better results as regards efficacy, safety, tolerability and quality of recovery from the perspective of the patient.

Acute scrotal pain from idiopathic ilioinguinal neuropathy: Diagnosis and treatment with EMG-guided nerve block

Ilioinguinal nerve entrapment presents with a clinical triad of pain in the iliac fossa and inguinal region, sensory abnormalities in the cutaneous distribution of the nerve and tenderness on palpation 2–3 cm medial and below the anterior superior iliac spine. The syndrome poses diagnostic difficulties, as genitofemoral nerve entrapment and non-neurological conditions of the lower abdomen may cause similar pain. We report on a patient with acute groin pain radiating towards the scrotum, caused by ilioinguinal nerve entrapment. The clinical diagnosis was strongly suggested by electromyographic examination, using the monopolar needle as a deep stimulating electrode. Subsequent nerve blockade caused complete relief of symptoms. The technique is described. Future applications for treatment of post-surgical pain are discussed.

Acute Post-Surgical Pain Management: A Critical Appraisal of Current Practice

The Acute Pain Summit 2005 was convened to critically examine the perceptions of physicians about current methods used to control postoperative pain and to compare those perceptions with the available scientific evidence. Clinicians with expertise in treatment of postsurgical pain were asked to evaluate 10 practice-based statements. The statements were written to reflect areas within the field of acute-pain management, where significant questions remain regarding everyday practice. Each statement made a specific claim about the usefulness of a specific therapy (eg, PCA or epidural analgesia) or the use of pain-control modalities in specific patient populations (eg, epidural analgesia after colon resection). Members of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) were asked, via a Web-based survey, to rate their degree of agreement with each of the 10 statements; 22.8% (n = 632) of members responded. In preparation for the pain summit, a panel member independently conducted a literature search and summarized the available evidence relevant to each statement. Summit participants convened in December 2005. The assigned panel member presented the available evidence, and workshop participants then assigned a category for the level of evidence and recommendation for each statement. All participants then voted about each statement by use of the same accept/reject scale used earlier by ASRA members. This manuscript details those opinions and presents a critical analysis of the existing evidence supporting new and emerging techniques used to control postsurgical pain.

Oral fixed drug combination analgesic tramadol/paracetamol: benefits for patients and budgets

Although pain can present in many different ways, acute, subacute and chronic pain are frequently used and helpful categories that cover a wide range of pain phenomena. This paper reviews five cost-minimization studies of tramadol/paracetamol compared with codeine/paracetamol, immediate-release tramadol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of postsurgical pain, lower back pain and osteoarthritis. These conditions represent the main general indications for the combination analgesic. This economic modeling data is preceded by a discussion of each pain type, focusing on the published clinical literature of the efficacy of tramadol/paracetamol and relevant comparators. For the cost-minimization studies, each model employed a similar decision analytical framework, with data derived from clinical trials, Delphi panels and official price and tariff lists. Rollback analyses were used to calculate the cost of treatment per patient. The initial hypothesis in each study was that higher drug costs for tramadol/paracetamol would be offset by a reduction of costs associated with the treatment of side effects. In addition, a cost–utility model carried out among patients with moderate or severe back pain could also underline a benefit-adjusted outcome (quality of life) for patients treated with tramadol/paracetamol. Results of the published clinical literature and these recent economic analyses suggest that tramadol/paracetamol, by reducing the incidence of adverse events, provides benefits for both patients and budgets.