Studies

Leaders of the American Academy of Pain Medicine recently published a Pain Medicine Position Paper which documents that businesses lose large sums of money due to ineffective pain care and pain care delivery.  The AAPM leaders propose a new approach to pain care. To learn more, click here.

October 15th is recognized by 70 countries worldwide as Global Handwashing Day. The purpose of Global Handwashing Day is to improve handwashing practices, particularly in children. Every year, a million people die of diarrheal disease and respiratory illness. Both diseases can easily be avoided by simply washing your hands with soap and water. The soap [...]

The Cochrane Reviews recently published a review by KJ Walker regarding the use of ultrasound guidance for peripheral nerve blockades. Although the use of ultrasound did not determine a block’s success, it does have a number of benefits for the patient: reduced bruising, reduced time to do the block, quickness in the block working, and [...]

In a recent article in the Journal of Medical Ethics, the ethical violation caused by undertreating pain is examined.  Too few pain specialists exist worldwide.  Most pain specialists deal with patients with terminal conditions.  Doctors outside pain and palliative specialties are often not familiar with pain guidelines.  The author argues that physicans who are not [...]

Researchers at Queens University have found that patients with neuropathic pain experience less pain when taking both gabapentin (an anti-seizure drug) AND nortriptyline (an anti-depressant drug.)  The drug combination also reportedly helps patients sleep better.  Results of the study are published in the international journal The Lancet. To read more about the study, click here.

A study led by Dr. Kenneth Covinsky of the Division of Geriatrics at University of California, San Francisco examines the relationship of pain across the age span.  “Our study cannot determine whether pain causes disability or whether disability causes pain,” Dr. Covinsky said. The study did determine that pain sufferers appear “20 to 30 years [...]

According to a report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, a shortage of heart surgeons in the US could cause major problems for Americans who are overweight and aging.  Apparently, the US is currently lacking 3,000 cardiologists.  By 2050, that lack could grow to 16,000.  To keep up with the recent findings, [...]

A recent study from Georgia State University and published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol. 3, p. 1-11, addresses the connection between infants who spent time in the NICU and adults with altered pain sensitivity. To read the press release, click here. To read the article, click here.

A study was recently published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association of Cancer Research, that examined chronic periodontitis as a risk factor for developing head and neck cancer.  Read about the study here.

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine recently released an article stating that the placement of Infraclavicular Perineural Catheters is faster, safer and more successful when placed using ultrasound guidance. Click here to read the abstract.