Pain
From the Journals
PCPs play a small part in low-value care spending
Study indicates waste was widely distributed among specialties.
From the Journals
Meta-analysis: No evidence that SNRIs relieve back pain
But antidepressants may provide relief for knee OA and sciatica.
From the Journals
Greater reductions in knee OA pain seen with supportive rather than flexible shoes
Compared with patients who wore flat flexible shoes, those who wore stable supportive shoes had greater improvement after 6 months.
From the Journals
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome associated with various complications in hospitalized patients
“This study legitimizes what many who take care of patients with EDS know to be true, and for those who don’t, it brings a lot of attention to...
Conference Coverage
Radiofrequency ablation blocks hip, shoulder arthritis pain
A new treatment “stuns” sensory nerves and reduces pain signals in knee and shoulder osteoarthritis.
Guidelines
Joint guidelines favor antibody testing for certain Lyme disease manifestations
The Infectious Disease Society of America, American Academy of Neurology, and the American College of Rheumatology teamed up for the first time to...
From the Journals
Real acupuncture beat sham for osteoarthritis knee pain
Approximately 60% of patients treated with electroacupuncture showed clinical improvement in pain and function after 8 weeks.
News from the FDA/CDC
FDA issues new NSAIDs warning for second half of pregnancy
The FDA action expands on earlier warnings about agents in this drug class, which the FDA previously cautioned about taking after week 30 of...
From the Journals
‘Overwhelming evidence’ FDA’s opioid approval process is shoddy
The majority of approvals of opioids for the treatment of chronic pain during 1997-2018 were based on pivotal trials that lacked critical safety...
Commentary
New acute pain guidelines from the ACP and AAFP have limitations
Pain can be multi-factorial and treating it requires a multi-pronged approach.
News
Reworked OxyContin fails to cut overall opioid abuse, FDA panel says
Some members noted that reformulated OxyContin coincided with increased transition to heroin but recognized the difficulty of proving causality....