An Acute Pain Service experience initiating methadone for opioid use disorder in hospitalized patients with acute pain.

OBJECTIVE: Inform readers of the use of a clinical pathway that includes initiation of methadone in hospitalized patients with acute pain who have untreated opioid use disorder (OUD). DESIGN: A retrospective chart review with frequency distributions and descriptive statistics calculated to describe demo-graphic and clinical characteristics of the sample. SETTING: Urban academic hospital. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty consecutive patients with untreated OUD cared for by the Acute Pain Service (APS). INTERVENTIONS: APS leadership spearheaded development of a clinical pathway to standardize pain management and optimize outcomes. The authors outline pathway development and describe 120 patients managed using this pathway, initiated on methadone for OUD. RESULTS: The sample included patients, average age 40 years, predominantly non-Hispanic white (74.2 percent), male (61.7 percent), unemployed (88.2 percent), and on Medicaid (84.2 percent). 96.7 percent had a history of heroin use, and 52.1 percent had engaged in previous medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Methadone or other opioids were held for signs of intoxication/sedation in 10.9 percent or for prolonged corrected QT interval in 1.7 percent. The majority received at least one other analgesic agent. For those prescribed opioids upon discharge, the average maximum morphine equivalent dose was 68.2 mg/day for approximately 3 days. 68.3 percent agreed to schedule post-discharge MAT, and of these, 68 percent attended their intake appointment. A small percentage (4.7 percent) left the hospital against medical advice. CONCLUSION: This pathway provides an example of an effective and safe response to address the opioid epidemic and pro-vide quality care to patients with OUD and pain.

Opioid Guidelines Are a Necessary Response to the Opioid Crisis.

Guidelines for opioid prescribing in noncancer pain have proliferated since the opioid crisis in the United States became widely recognized. The recently published Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for opioid prescribing have been controversial. Many of these concerns arise from underestimation of the scale of the opioid crisis, as well as misunderstanding what the guidelines actually say. Strict guidelines should be welcomed as a constructive approach to managing a thorny public health issue.

Vascular risk in migraineurs: interaction of endothelial and cortical excitability factors.

BACKGROUND: Migraine is a common primary headache disorder occurring predominantly in a young, relatively healthy population. RESULTS: There is a growing literature on associations between migraine, especially migraine with aura, and ischemic stroke as well as other vascular events. Migraine as a risk factor for vascular disease and connections between migraine and endothelial, structural, and genetic risk are reviewed. CONCLUSION: There may be an interaction between endothelial dysfunction and cortical spreading depression affecting risk. Patient education and treatment of modifiable risk factors may decrease future vascular events.

Needle echogenicity in ultrasound-guided lumbar spine injections: a cadaveric study.

BACKGROUND: Echogenicity of regional anesthesia needles has been tested on different preclinical models; however, previous studies were done in an ideal experimental setting utilizing high-frequency insonation and superficially located targets. Because steep-angle deep injections are typically required for spinal and other chronic pain procedures, and low-frequency transducers are used, further feasibility study is warranted. OBJECTIVES: To determine effectiveness of steep-angle deep injections, typically required for spinal and other chronic pain procedures. STUDY DESIGN: Experimental laboratory study. SETTING: Willed Body Program, University of Washington. METHODS: In-plane lumbar spine procedures with 50° and 70° angles were performed on a human cadaver. The images and video clips of a non-echogenic (Quincke-type) and echogenic (SonoPlex, StimuQuick, and EchoStim) needle placements were presented to 3 blinded assessors who rated the needle visibility on a 4-point scale. The data was statistically analyzed to determine the differences in visibility between the needles with and without the digital image enhancement, and to compare the video clips to captured images. RESULTS: ANOVA analysis demonstrated that overall SonoPlex was significantly better (P = 0.02) than other needles. SonoPlex maintained its superiority in the subset of facet joint injections (P = 0.02), followed by Quincke-type, then the StimuQuik, and EchoStim needles. In deep procedures, EchoStim was comparable with SonoPlex (P = 0.03), and they both were better than the other 2 needles. The enhanced images received higher rates, with a 0.6 point mean improved rating (P = 0). LIMITATIONS: This study is limited by choice of needles, number of experiments performed, and potential postmortem changes of echogenicity. CONCLUSIONS: The SonoPlex needle appeared to have better echogenicity in this study. While non-echogenic Quincke-type needle visibility was adequate in superficial placements, it was limited in deep injections. An imaging enhancement is effective in improving needle visibility and should be used whenever possible.

Opioids in the management of HIV-related pain.

BACKGROUND: Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients have an increased rate of chronic pain, particularly peripheral neuropathy. This disease burden causes considerable disability and negatively affects quality of life. Pain is undertreated and more complex to manage in these patients for a number of reasons, including complex anti-retroviral drug regimens, higher risks of side effects, and higher rates of comorbid psychiatric illness and substance abuse. Pain management must take these factors into account and use all available modalities, including nonopioid pain relievers, adjuvant medications, and psychosocial therapies in addition to opioid analgesics. Here we review recent recommendations regarding acute and chronic opioid treatment of pain and the treatment of opioid dependence in HIV-infected patients, and provide suggestions regarding aberrant behavior in pain treatment. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this comprehensive review is to assess and summarize the complicating factors involved in treating HIV patients' pain with opioid analgesics. STUDY DESIGN: This is a narrative review without a systematic quality assessment of the literature discussion. METHODS: A comprehensive review of the literature relating to pain and pain treatment in HIV patients. The literature was collected from electronic databases, textbooks, and other sources. The scientific literature reviewed includes randomized trials, observational studies, systematic reviews, guidelines, and government reports. RESULTS: This patient population is heterogeneous and diverse in their medical issues and comorbidities, but a systematic, stepwise approach to assessing and managing pain in HIV patients is described. Chronic opioid treatment has proven to be problematic and considerations and alternatives to this treatment are described. Management of pain in patients with opioid addiction, a frequent comorbidity of HIV infection, requires special awareness and different prescribing practices. Screening and identifying patients who are at special risk for developing medical or behavior complications of pain treatment is essential, and approaches to this, and common forms of aberrant behavior, are described. LIMITATIONS: The scientific literature on opioid treatment in this population is limited. The population of HIV patients is heterogeneous and differs in significant ways based on ethnicity, national origin, and mode of transmission, making it difficult to generalize about pain treatment in such a diverse group. CONCLUSIONS: Pain management in HIV patients must take these factors into account and use all available modalities for treatment, including nonopioid analgesics, adjuvant medications, and psychosocial therapies. Opioid analgesics should be prescribed with caution in accordance with current guidelines and after careful risk assessment.