scholarly journals A Delphi Consensus Approach for the Management of Chronic Pain during and after the COVID-19 Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (24) ◽  
pp. 13372
Author(s):  
Marco Cascella ◽  
Luca Miceli ◽  
Francesco Cutugno ◽  
Giorgio Di Lorenzo ◽  
Alessandro Morabito ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Clinical Expertise ◽  
Delphi Consensus ◽  
Delphi Approach ◽  
Published Evidence ◽  
Strongly Agree ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Due to a lack of published evidence on the topic, a modified Delphi approach was used to develop recommendations useful for chronic pain management during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Focusing on the available literature and personal clinical expertise, an Italian board of nine professionals from different disciplines identified four main topics: prevention of chronic pain, treatment of chronic pain, consequences of inadequate treatment, and perspectives. They elaborated a semi-structured questionnaire. A multidisciplinary panel of experts in the field of pain management was requested to comment on the statements. Based on the answers provided, a structured questionnaire was prepared (Round 1). It included 21 statements divided into three categories (organizational issues; diagnosis and therapies; telemedicine and future perspectives). A five-point Likert scale was adopted. The threshold for consensus was set at a minimum of 70% of the number of respondents (level of agreement ≥ 4, Agree or Strongly Agree). A final questionnaire with rephrasing of the statements that did not reach the consensus threshold was elaborated (Round 2). A total of 29 clinicians were included in the panel. Twenty clinicians (69%) responded in both the first and second round. After two rounds, consensus (≥70%) was achieved in 20 out of 21 statements. The lack of consensus was recorded for the statement regarding the management of post-COVID pain (55%; Median 4; IQR 2.3). Another statement on telemedicine reached the threshold in the first round (70%), but the value was not confirmed in Round 2 (65%; Median 4; IQR 2). Most of the proposed items reached consensus, suggesting the need to make organizational changes, the structuring of careful diagnostic and therapeutic pathways, and the application of new technologies in pain medicine. Long-COVID-19 care is an issue that needs further research. Remote assistance for chronic pain must be regulated.

scholarly journals Acute and Chronic Pain Learning and Teaching in Medical School—An Observational Cross-Sectional Study Regarding Preparation and Self-Confidence of Clinical and Pre-Clinical Medical Students

Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kacper Lechowicz ◽  
Igor Karolak ◽  
Sylwester Drożdżal ◽  
Maciej Żukowski ◽  
Aleksandra Szylińska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Acute Pain ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Clinical Group ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Actual Knowledge

Background and objectives: Adequate pain management is a major challenge of public health. The majority of students graduating from medical schools has insufficient education and experience with patients suffering pain. Not enough is being taught regarding pain in non-verbal patients (children, critically ill in the intensive care unit, demented). Chronic pain is the most difficult to optimize and requires appropriate preparation at the level of medical school. Our aim was to evaluate attitudes, expectations and the actual knowledge of medical students at different levels of their career path regarding the assessment and treatment of acute and chronic pain. Materials and Methods: We performed an observational cross-sectional study that was based on a survey distributed among medical students of pre-clinical and post-clinical years at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Poland. The survey included: demographic data, number of hours of formal pain teaching, actual knowledge of pain assessment, and pain treatment options in adults and children. Results: We received responses from 77/364 (21.15%) students and 79.2% of them rated the need to obtain knowledge regarding pain as very important (10/10 points). Post-clinical group declared having on average 11.51 h of acute pain teaching as compared to the 7.4 h reported by the pre-clinical group (p = 0.012). Graduating students also reported having significantly more classes regarding the treatment of chronic pain (6.08 h vs. 3.79 h, p = 0.007). The average level of comfort in the post-clinical group regarding treatment of acute pain was higher than in the pre-clinical group (6.05 vs. 4.26, p = 0.006), similarly with chronic pain treatment in adults (4.33 vs. 2.97, p = 0.021) and with pain treatment in children (3.14 vs. 1.97, p = 0.026). Conclusions: This study shows that education about pain management is a priority to medical students. Despite this, there continues to be a discrepancy between students’ expectations and the actual teaching and knowledge regarding effective pain management, including the vulnerable groups: chronic pain patients, children, and critically ill people.

Chronic pain – the idea of mechanism orientated treatment

Ból ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-49
Author(s):  
Magdalena Kocot-Kępska ◽  
Renata Zajączkowska ◽  
Jan Dobrogowski ◽  
Anna Przeklasa-Muszyńska
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Empiric Therapy ◽  
Pain Medicine ◽  
Significant Progress ◽  
Pain Syndromes ◽  
Pain Chronification ◽  
Rational Mechanism

Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying chronic pain syndromes is a significant progress in modern pain medicine. Understanding the basic differences between acute and chronic pain processes, learning about the mechanisms of transition from acute to chronic pain, allows us to change the approach to pain management from commonly used empirical approach to more rational mechanism-oriented pain treatment. In many patients with chronic pain, empiric therapy, which does not consider the mechanisms of pain, is not fully effective. Often, when planning pharmacotherapy, current knowledge about the pain etiology and mechanisms of pain chronification is not considered. Management based on already known mechanisms of pain, using rational pharmacotherapy and non-pharmacological methods, may improve the quality and effectiveness of pain management.

Pain assessment and post-operative pain management in orthopedic patients

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 181-181
Author(s):  
W. Schmelling ◽  
J.N. Poulsen ◽  
L. Christrup ◽  
P. Gazerani
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Postoperative Pain ◽  
Potential Risk ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Sleep Disturbances ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Early Mobilization ◽  
Postoperative Pain Management ◽  
Orthopedic Patients

Abstract Aims A fast-track based surgical treatment reduces morbidity and hospital stay by providing early mobilization. Sufficient postoperative pain management is mandatory for early mobilization and optimal utilization of rehabilitation measures. Insufficient postoperative pain management is however a widespread problem. Lack of knowledge about pain and pain treatment among health care professionals and general community has been considered as a major potential contributor in insufficient pain management. It has been suggested that severe postoperative pain might imply a potential risk of developing chronic pain. The purpose of this study was to examine this problem in acute and elective surgical patients in department of orthopedic surgery at Bispebjerg Hospital in order to identify obstacles and possibilities for future improvement. Methods Questionnaires were developed and distributed to patients consisted of 10 acute admitted and 10 elective orthopedic patients. The patients’ pain scores were recorded with a 0–10 NRS scale. The scores were obtained for current pain in rest, current pain in activity, and the highest and lowest pain intensity for the last 24 hours. Data were handled using descriptive statistics. Results The goal for sufficient pain treatment was patients with pain score at ≤ 3 NRS at rest and ≤ 5 in activity. For pain at rest 45% of the patients were within the goal range and 55% for the current pain in activity. For the mildest pain experienced in the last 24 h, 75% and for the worst pain experienced 30% of the patients reached the goal. Conclusions Corresponding to similar studies, half of the patients received a sufficient pain treatment at the time of examination. The consequences for insufficient pain management would be reduced effect of the physiotherapy, reduced ability to handle every day activity, sleep disturbances, and potential risk of developing chronic pain.

scholarly journals Toward Gamified Pain Management Apps: Mobile Application Rating Scale–Based Quality Assessment of Pain-Mentor’s First Prototype Through an Expert Study

10.2196/13170 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. e13170
Author(s):  
Alexandra Hoffmann ◽  
Corinna A Faust-Christmann ◽  
Gregor Zolynski ◽  
Gabriele Bleser
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Content Quality ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Health Experts

Background The use of health apps to support the treatment of chronic pain is gaining importance. Most available pain management apps are still lacking in content quality and quantity as their developers neither involve health experts to ensure target group suitability nor use gamification to engage and motivate the user. To close this gap, we aimed to develop a gamified pain management app, Pain-Mentor. Objective To determine whether medical professionals would approve of Pain-Mentor’s concept and content, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of the app’s first prototype with experts from the field of chronic pain management and to discover necessary improvements. Methods A total of 11 health professionals with a background in chronic pain treatment and 2 mobile health experts participated in this study. Each expert first received a detailed presentation of the app. Afterward, they tested Pain-Mentor and then rated its quality using the mobile application rating scale (MARS) in a semistructured interview. Results The experts found the app to be of excellent general (mean 4.54, SD 0.55) and subjective quality (mean 4.57, SD 0.43). The app-specific section was rated as good (mean 4.38, SD 0.75). Overall, the experts approved of the app’s content, namely, pain and stress management techniques, behavior change techniques, and gamification. They believed that the use of gamification in Pain-Mentor positively influences the patients’ motivation and engagement and thus has the potential to promote the learning of pain management techniques. Moreover, applying the MARS in a semistructured interview provided in-depth insight into the ratings and concrete suggestions for improvement. Conclusions The experts rated Pain-Mentor to be of excellent quality. It can be concluded that experts perceived the use of gamification in this pain management app in a positive manner. This showed that combining pain management with gamification did not negatively affect the app’s integrity. This study was therefore a promising first step in the development of Pain-Mentor.

scholarly journals Toward Gamified Pain Management Apps: Mobile Application Rating Scale–Based Quality Assessment of Pain-Mentor’s First Prototype Through an Expert Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Hoffmann ◽  
Corinna A Faust-Christmann ◽  
Gregor Zolynski ◽  
Gabriele Bleser
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Semistructured Interview ◽  
Content Quality ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
Health Experts

BACKGROUND The use of health apps to support the treatment of chronic pain is gaining importance. Most available pain management apps are still lacking in content quality and quantity as their developers neither involve health experts to ensure target group suitability nor use gamification to engage and motivate the user. To close this gap, we aimed to develop a gamified pain management app, Pain-Mentor. OBJECTIVE To determine whether medical professionals would approve of Pain-Mentor’s concept and content, this study aimed to evaluate the quality of the app’s first prototype with experts from the field of chronic pain management and to discover necessary improvements. METHODS A total of 11 health professionals with a background in chronic pain treatment and 2 mobile health experts participated in this study. Each expert first received a detailed presentation of the app. Afterward, they tested Pain-Mentor and then rated its quality using the mobile application rating scale (MARS) in a semistructured interview. RESULTS The experts found the app to be of excellent general (mean 4.54, SD 0.55) and subjective quality (mean 4.57, SD 0.43). The app-specific section was rated as good (mean 4.38, SD 0.75). Overall, the experts approved of the app’s content, namely, pain and stress management techniques, behavior change techniques, and gamification. They believed that the use of gamification in Pain-Mentor positively influences the patients’ motivation and engagement and thus has the potential to promote the learning of pain management techniques. Moreover, applying the MARS in a semistructured interview provided in-depth insight into the ratings and concrete suggestions for improvement. CONCLUSIONS The experts rated Pain-Mentor to be of excellent quality. It can be concluded that experts perceived the use of gamification in this pain management app in a positive manner. This showed that combining pain management with gamification did not negatively affect the app’s integrity. This study was therefore a promising first step in the development of Pain-Mentor. CLINICALTRIAL

scholarly journals A qualitative exploration of chronic pain and opioid treatment among HIV patients with drug use disorders

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarina R. Isenberg, MA ◽  
Allysha C. Maragh-Bass, MPH, PhD ◽  
Kathleen Ridgeway, MSPH ◽  
Mary Catherine Beach, MD, MPH ◽  
Amy R. Knowlton, MPH, ScD
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
Illicit Drug Use ◽  
Prescription Opioids ◽  
Community Based Research ◽  
History Of

Objective: The study explored high-risk participants' experiences with pain management regarding clinical access to and use of prescription opioids.Design: Qualitative semistructured interviews and focus groups.Setting: Data were collected August 2014 to May 2015 at an urban community-based research facility in Baltimore City, MD.Participants: HIV participants with chronic pain and a history of illicit drug use.Methods: Qualitative coding and analysis used an iterative, inductive, and thematic approach and coders achieved inter-coder consistency.Results: The authors identified two major themes. First, participants had positive and negative interactions with healthcare providers regarding chronic pain treatment. Participants perceived that providers lacked empathy for their pain and/or were not adequately managing their pain. These interactions resulted in participants seeking new providers or mistrusting the medical system. Further, providers’ surveillance of participants’ pain treatment regimen contributed to distress surrounding pain management. The second theme centered on participants’ pain management experiences with prescribed opioid analgesics. Participants felt they were receiving dosages and classes of analgesics that did not sufficiently address their pain, and consequently modified their dosages or rationed prescription opioids. Other participants were reluctant to take analgesics due to their history of illicit drug use. Some participants relapsed to illicit drug use when they felt their prescription opioids did not adequately address their pain needs.Conclusions: Participant struggles with receiving and managing prescribed opioid analgesics suggest a need for: therapies beyond these medications; guidelines for providers specific to this population; and harm reduction trainings for providers.

Pain Management: Texas Legislative and Regulatory Update

1996 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 328-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Ralston
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Policy Statement ◽  
Intractable Pain ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
Policy Statements ◽  
Medical Examiners ◽  
Regulatory Update

My purpose is to provide an update on recent Texas regulatory and statutory changes adopted , since the passage in Texas of the Intractable Pain Treatment Act in 1989 (Pain Act) (see Table l). First, I describe the rules adopted by the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners (TSBME) that authorize physicians to prescribe opioids for the treatment of pain (Pain Rules) (see Table 2). Second, I detail recent statutory changes that pertain to education of physicians and medical students about pain treatment. All of these changes attempt to create a better legal environment for the treatment of chronic pain in Texas.Before describing the Pain Rules adopted in Texas, the question Why adopt rules, rather than simply ask TSBME to issue a policy statement? must be answered. Many states, most notably California, have issued policy statements that clarify for physicians the parameters within which they may treat pain? Policy statements, unlike administrative regulations, do not have the force of law.

scholarly journals An Interprofessional Approach to Chronic Pain Management and Education

2022 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Nida S. Awadallah ◽  
Vanessa Rollins ◽  
Alvin B. Oung ◽  
Miriam Dickinson ◽  
Dionisia de la Cerda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Pain Management ◽  
Chart Review ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Retrospective Chart Review ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Chronic Pain Management ◽  
Training Experience ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Pain Scores

Background and Objectives: The opioid epidemic highlights the importance of evidence-based practices in the management of chronic pain and the need for improved resident education focused on chronic pain treatment and controlled substance use. We present the development, implementation, and outcomes of a novel, long-standing interprofessional safe prescribing committee (SPC) and resulting policy, protocol, and longitudinal curriculum to address patient care and educational gaps in chronic pain management for residents in training. Methods: The SPC developed and implemented an opioid prescribing policy, protocol, and longitudinal curriculum in a single, community-based residency program. We conducted a postcurriculum survey for resident graduates to assess impact of knowledge gained. We conducted a retrospective chart review for patients on chronic opioid therapy to assess change in morphine equivalent dosing (MED) and pain scores pre- and postintervention. Results: A postcurriculum survey was completed by 20/26 (77%) graduates; 18/20 (90%) felt well-equipped to manage chronic pain based on their residency training experience. We completed a retrospective chart review on 57 patients. We found a significant decrease in MED (-20.34 [SE 5.12], P<.0001) at intervention visit with MED reductions maintained through the postintervention period (-9.43 per year additional decrease [SE 5.25], P=.073). We observed improvement in postintervention pain scores (P=.017). Conclusions: Our study illustrates the effectiveness of an interprofessional committee in lowering prescribed opioid doses and enhancing chronic pain education in a community-based residency setting.

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