Pregabalin and Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Treatment Option

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. CMT.S1094
Author(s):  
Kim Lawson

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic complex pain disorder that is multidimensional and exhibits heterogeneity requiring a long-term multidisciplinary approach to management. Many of the drugs used in the treatment of FM have been focused to the management of single symptoms; often such drugs fail to demonstrate acceptable efficacy in the majority of the patient population. Pregabalin is an α2-δ ligand that regulates the release and postsynaptic actions of neurotransmitters related to analgesic, anticonvulsant and anxiolytic properties. In randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies, pregabalin has demonstrated an improvement in pain, sleep and fatigue symptoms associated with FM, as well as offering an improvement in parameters related to quality of life. Although the positive outcomes obtained with pregabalin support its use as an option for the management of FM, the efficacy was restricted to a selected patient population outside of the usual care setting. Current data do not allow an explanation where there are any limitations of pregabalin as a treatment of patients with FM, as to whether this is a deficiency of the drug or the process of assessment (e.g. assessment tools of FM, clinical trial design).

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Dusza ◽  
Michał Matysiak

In this article we present current investigation on primary immune thrombocytopenia in children. There are described pathomorphology, clinical symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. We also present current data from literature about genetic tests and latest data on treating options in children. Primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is one of the most frequent hematological disorders in pediatric population. Although the majority of children have a self-limited and short duration of the disease. However, approximately 20-30% of those patients can develop chronic ITP, which can cause significant complications and higher mortality and reduced quality of life. Especially regarding to long-term immunosupression or surgical interventions, such like splenectomy and restrictions on daily activities to avoid trauma. Over the past decades a lot of informations has been reported about pathogenic features of ITP. Nowdays, we know that it is not only caused by increased platet destruction and decreased platet production, but also complex, multifactorial immune dysregulation, like loss of immune tolerance and generation of platelet autoantibodies. In this article we present current investigation on ITP including clinical symptoms, diagnosis, pathomorphology and latests options on treatment in children. We also present current data about genetic biomarker, such as Vanin-1 (VNN-1) which has been suggested as one of predictors of chronic disease and potentially can offer early prognosis estimation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmine Riccio ◽  
Marinella Sommaruga ◽  
Paola Vaghi ◽  
Alfonso Cassella ◽  
Silvana Celardo ◽  
...  

The lack of a multidisciplinary approach is certainly among the causes of the ineffectiveness of intervention in the field of cardiovascular secondary prevention. By multidisciplinary approach is meant involving cardiologists, nurses, rehabilitation therapists, dieticians as well as psychologists in the framing of interventions tailor made to patients needs. In particular, people working in the nursing area can play a very important role which can be summed up into three different levels: a technical level, aiming at the cooperation with cardiologists to carry out diagnostic examinations and give a portrait of patients in terms of risks; a second level consists in giving information, and helping to face the disease, as well as stepping in during its evolution, almost a health counsellor for the patients; finally the nurse can act as a psychological support both to the patient and his/her family during acute illnesses and reassure him/her that he/she is being treated properly and that successively will resume a good quality of life. Hospital represent an ideal place for secondary prevention, at least in the first phases of the intervention. The results collected during hospitalization would be rapidly lost if they were not followed and sustained in the medium- long term by structured follow-up programmes. The development of ambulatories might represent a link between hospitals and the territory, i.e. the specialist and one’s personal physician. The staff of ambulatories should comprise a cardiologist and a trained professional nurse, this being specialized, specifically, in cardiology and cardiovascular prevention. Staff of the type described could work independently, co-ordinating ambulatories on the territory within the framework of standardized recognized protocols and relating information concerning patients, general practitioners and other surgeries. In this way, an essential link of the continuity in medical care would be guaranteed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire CARDAILLAC ◽  
Stéphane Ploteau ◽  
Aurélie Le Thuaut ◽  
Vincent Dochez ◽  
Norbert Winer ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Perineal pain due to episiotomy is commonly reported and can be severe enough to disturb the mother-infant dyad during the postpartum period. Its incidence at day 7 postpartum varies from 63% to 74%. Recent studies have already investigated the analgesic efficacy of perineal infiltration of ropivacaine after episiotomy, but have only focused on the immediate postpartum period (at 24 and 48 hours after birth). Large, adequately powered, multicenter, randomized controlled trials are required to evaluate the impact of ropivacaine infiltration on perineal pain and mid- and long-term quality of life before the widespread use of ropivacaine to prevent perineal pain after episiotomy can be recommended. Methods The ROPISIO study is a two-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in La Roche sur Yon and Nantes, France. It will involve 272 women with vaginal singleton delivery and mediolateral episiotomy at term (≥ 37 weeks). Perineal infiltration (ropivacaine 75mg or placebo) will be administrated just after vaginal birth and before episiotomy repair. The primary outcome will be the analgesic efficacy at day 7 postpartum (mid-term), defined by the numerical rating scale of pain (ENS NRS) strictly superior to 3/10 on the perineal repair area. Secondary outcomes will be the analgesic efficacy (ENS NRS), the impact of pain on daily behavior, on the quality of life (36-Item Short Form Health Survey), on the occurrence of symptoms of postpartum depression (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) and on sexuality (Female Sexual Function Index) at 3 and 6 months (long-term) using validated online questionnaires. This study will have 90% power to show approximately 30% relative risk reduction in the incidence of perineal pain at day 7, from 70.0% to 50.0%. Discussion Ropivacaine is a promising candidate drug, inexpensive, easy to administer, and would be suitable to include in the routine management of deliveries in labor ward. This study will investigate if perineal ropivacaine infiltration just after birth can reduce mid- and long-term postpartum pain and increase quality of life in women with mediolateral episiotomy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Salamanna ◽  
Francesca Veronesi ◽  
Lucia Martini ◽  
Maria Paola Landini ◽  
Milena Fini

Whilst the entire world is battling the second wave of COVID-19, a substantial proportion of patients who have suffered from the condition in the past months are reporting symptoms that last for months after recovery, i. e., long-term COVID-19 symptoms. We aimed to assess the current evidence on the long-term symptoms in COVID-19 patients. We did a systematic review on PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Google Scholar from database inception to February 15, 2021, for studies on long-term COVID-19 symptoms. We included all type of papers that reported at least one long-term COVID-19 symptom. We screened studies using a standardized data collection form and pooled data from published studies. Cohort cross-sectional, case-report, cases-series, case-control studies, and review were graded using specific quality assessment tools. Of 11,361 publications found following our initial search we assessed 218 full-text articles, of which 145 met all selection criteria. We found that 20.70% of reports on long-term COVID-19 symptoms were on abnormal lung functions, 24.13% on neurologic complaints and olfactory dysfunctions, and 55.17% on specific widespread symptoms, mainly chronic fatigue, and pain. Despite the relatively high heterogeneity of the reviewed studies, our findings highlighted that a noteworthy proportion of patients who have suffered from SARS-CoV-2 infection present a “post-COVID syndrome.” The multifaceted understanding of all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including these long-term symptoms, will allow us to respond to all the global health challenges, thus paving the way to a stronger public health.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-71
Author(s):  
Bogdan Stanescu ◽  
Adriana Cuciureanu

The present article presents the expertise realized by the Department of Environmental Monitoring Pollution Evaluation within the INCD ECOIND, in the evaluation of the quality of urban soils in the municipality of Bucharest and the main big cities in Romania. The current data available at the level of the 27 member states of the European Union show that annually over 100,000 hectares of land are introduced into the urban environment, a direct consequence of the development of cities. There are a number of legislative obstacles to strategic soil protection measures. Moreover, at the level of the local authorities there is a conflict regarding the measures of soil protection in the long term, on the one hand, and, the accelerated economic development in the short term, on the other. European environmental experts consider that the urban development, absolutely necessary for the economic growth, requires an adequate management of the natural resources in order for the development to be done on a sustainable basis, respectively to follow a series of strategic objectives. In our country, at least in the last decade, we find on a large scale the conversion of industrial areas into commercial or residential areas. The footprint of industrial activities can be found even after long periods of time present by identifying the remnant of soil pollution or in those areas known as historically polluted (for example the town of Copsa Mica). The conclusions stemming from the assessment of pollution in urban areas over large areas, in correlation with the potential sources of pollution, underline the need to monitor the quality of soils in the urban environment, but also to apply a performance management in order to protect this natural resource in the long term.


Circulation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 144 (Suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian A Haskins ◽  
Ziad Nehme ◽  
Emily Andrew ◽  
Stephen Bernard ◽  
Peter Cameron ◽  
...  

Introduction: To assess the long-term functional recovery and health related quality-of-life (HRQoL) outcomes for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survivors stratified by shock provider. Methods: We included adult OHCA in initial shockable rhythms between 2010-2019. Those surviving to 12 months post arrest were invited to participate in telephone interviews to identify functional recovery and HRQoL outcomes, using the following assessment tools, Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended (GOS-E), EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D), and 12-Item Short Form (SF-12). Results: Of the 1,581 patients surviving to 12 months, 1,325 (85.5%) responded to the interviews, of these, 227 (17.1%) and 144 (10.9%) were initially shocked by bystanders and first responders, respectively. A higher proportion of patients shocked by bystanders were located in public (p<0.001), received bystander CPR (p<0.001) and received initial defibrillation faster from time of collapse (P<0.001). Survivors receiving bystander defibrillation reported higher rates of living at home without care (p=0.004), upper good recovery (GOS-E) (p=0.008) and EQ-5D index score of 1 (perfect health) (p=0.023). After adjustment, bystander defibrillation was associated with a 64% increase in the odds of an EQ-5D current Visual Analogue Scale ≥ 80 (AOR 1.64, 95%CI: 1.17-2.31; p=0.004) and a 45% increase in the odds of a good functional recovery (GOS-E ≥ 7) (AOR 1.45, 95% CI: 1.02-2.06; p=0.037), than those initially shocked by paramedics. No improvement in adjusted outcomes were observed for survivors initially defibrillated by first responders. Conclusion: Patients receiving bystander defibrillation reported better functional recovery and HRQol outcomes at 12 months compared to those defibrillated by first responders and paramedics.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. e236289
Author(s):  
Ilse Haveman ◽  
Anne M van Altena ◽  
Charlotte PA Verschuren ◽  
Johanna WM Aarts

Pubic osteomyelitis is a rare and often late-onset complication of radiation therapy and surgery for vulvar and vaginal carcinoma. It typically presents with vulvar pain, fever, vaginal discharge and/or gait disorders. Pubic osteomyelitis is often accompanied by fistulas or wound dehiscence in the pelvic area. Its accurate diagnosis and treatment are challenging and require a multidisciplinary team effort. In our patients, multiple combined surgical procedures, long-term antibiotic treatment and days to weeks of hospital admission were necessary to treat pubic osteomyelitis. We emphasise the importance of timely and adequate diagnosis and multidisciplinary approach resulting in a course of treatment that is as effective as possible, limiting the impact on quality of life, which is generally high in this group of patients.


Author(s):  
Anthony J. Cmelak ◽  
Kyle Arneson ◽  
Nicole G. Chau ◽  
Ralph W. Gilbert ◽  
Robert I. Haddad

Treatment of locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas requires a multidisciplinary approach to be able to offer patients definitive therapy while aiming to preserve organ function and minimize acute and long-term toxicities. Advances in surgical techniques will be reviewed for both primary sites and the neck and also in the salvage settings. Recent data on concurrent versus sequential chemoradiotherapy in these patients will be reviewed, with emphasis on identification of appropriate patients for sequential chemoradiotherapy. Finally, advances in modern radiotherapy modalities that have resulted in improved dosimetry and quality of life following treatment will be reviewed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (9) ◽  
pp. 438-443
Author(s):  
Karen Harrison-Dening

While patients diagnosed with dementia will require management from specialist neurology clinics, practice nurses play an important role in their health. Karen Harrison-Dening explains what assessment tools are available for patients with particular health needs The majority of patients are diagnosed in a memory assessment service or a neurology clinic. However, early detection of a possible dementia is often done in a primary care setting. Dementia diagnosis has been seen by some as a ‘tick-box exercise’ but there are significant benefits to patients and their families when screening or testing for dementia is carried out early, especially in supporting the patients management of other comorbid or long-term conditions. Nurses working in primary care have a key role in identifying patients who may have the signs and symptoms of dementia by enabling them to access a timely diagnosis.


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