Pain Management

John W. Devlin, PharmD, FCCM, FCCP, a clinical pharmacist in the medical ICU at Tufts Medical Center, discusses current practice guidelines for pain and delirium that would be important for pharmacists.

Mylan Inc. announced the U.S. launch of its Celecoxib Capsules, 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, and 400 mg, one of the first available generic versions of Pfizer's Celebrex® Capsules, which is indicated for the relief of the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, and for the management of acute pain in adults.

A late-stage trial of extended-release hydrocodone bitartrate (Zohydro ER) pointed to a generally safe and well-tolerated response among patients with chronic pain for up to 1 year, according to Zogenix, Inc.

A drug therapy for epilepsy and shingles pain is being voluntarily recalled by its manufacturer due to complaints of empty capsules.

A diverse collective of health care advocacy groups, patient organizations, industry representatives and other stakeholders today announced they have established the Alliance for Balanced Pain Management to support appropriate access to integrated pain management and responsible use of prescription pain medicines with an aim to reduce abuse. AfBPM will work collaboratively to educate, support and advocate on behalf of people affected by pain, both acute and chronic.

Blood testing will soon be painless, quick, accurate, and inexpensive, and patients won't need to go to a lab or doctor's office.

Because orally administered morphine is associated with a significantly greater number of adverse events, ibuprofen is the better choice for relieving pain in children with broken bones.

Roughly two-thirds of emergency department admissions for overdoses involve prescription opioid medications.

It is compulsory for pharmacists to counsel all patients receiving opioids, evaluate the potential benefit of a naloxone reversal device, and contact the opioid prescriber if such a device is deemed appropriate.

Used alongside antidepressants, OTC analgesics and anti-inflammatories purchased from pharmacies may effectively treat patients with depression without increasing their risk of adverse events.

The transdermal buprenorphine manufacturer has launched an awareness campaign to address specific knowledge gaps among pharmacists that pertain to opioids.

Although pharmacies can legally dispense remaining refills of prescriptions for rescheduled hydrocodone combination products submitted prior to October 6, 2014, over the next 6 months, many drug chains have chosen not to honor those refills.

Patients with irritable bowel syndrome cannot block pain signals from the gut as easily as those without the gastrointestinal condition.

In response to the recent article by Gary M. Franklin, MD, MPH, titled "Opioids for chronic non-cancer pain: A position paper of the American Academy of Neurology," we wish to address a number of issues.

All drugs containing the opioid hydrocodone have been reclassified as Schedule II controlled substances, prohibiting pharmacies from recognizing refills and phoned-in prescriptions for those medications.

When quality of wallet takes precedence over quality of life, the healing arts suffer for it.

California joins 5 other states in allowing pharmacists to dispense naloxone without a prescription.

'The Holy Trinity' is a drug regimen that includes at least an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and carisoprodol.

Reclassifying hydrocodone will not stop the drug from being filled legitimately and sold illegally.

Just a dozen drug ingredients are the culprits behind nearly half of all emergency hospitalizations for unsupervised prescription drug ingestions among young children.

Alpha-2-macroglobulin may soon revolutionize the treatment of osteoarthritis.

The FDA today approved AstraZeneca's naloxegol (Movantik) treatment for opioid-induced constipation in adults with chronic noncancer pain.

The My GI Health tool tracks symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease over time, helping clinicians save time and improve patient care.

Providing patients with information is key to helping them manage sickle cell disease pain.

The community pharmacist's life is about to get a lot more difficult.