Physicians' concerns about regulatory scrutiny and the possibility of unwarranted investigation by regulatory agencies negatively affect their prescribing of opioid analgesics to treat pain. Indeed, some state medical boards have rejected prescribing practices that are considered acceptable by today's standards. This article describes a ten-year program of research, education, and policy develo...

BACKGROUND In Japan, there are limited options for switching opioid analgesics. Hydromorphone is an opioid analgesic that is routinely used instead of morphine for cancer pain; however, it is not yet available in Japan. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of hydromorphone (DS-7113b) extended-release tablets in opioid-naïve patients with cancer pain not relieved by non-op...

The concept that the immune system can communicate with peripheral sensory neurons to modulate pain is based mostly on documented interactions between opioid ligands and receptors. Such findings may have broad implications for the development of safer pain medication. Innovative strategies take into account that analgesics should be particularly active in pathological states rather than produci...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To describe the factors that contribute to the risk for undertreatment of cancer pain, as well as the risk factors associated with misuse or abuse of opioid analgesics, and to describe approaches to identify and manage the risks. DATA SOURCES Published research, articles from a literature review, and U. S. statistics. DATA SYNTHESIS Oncology nurses should perform systemat...

Opioid receptors have been targeted for the treatment of pain and related disorders for thousands of years and remain the most widely used analgesics in the clinic. Mu (μ), kappa (κ), and delta (δ) opioid receptors represent the originally classified receptor subtypes, with opioid receptor like-1 (ORL1) being the least characterized. All four receptors are G-protein coupled and activate inhibit...

Background T he last decade has witnessed a dramatic shift in the perception of the safety of opioid prescribing. An initial analysis by the Pain and Policy Studies Group at the University of Wisconsin Medical School1 concluded that the use of opioids in the chronic pain population carried a low risk of abuse potential. They had studied the national utilization of five opioid analgesics used to...

Treatment strategies for herpes zoster infection include limiting viral replication with anti-infective agents as well as limiting associated acute and chronic neuropathic pain with a variety of analgesics. The author outlines currently available pharmacotherapeutic options, from first-line (eg, anti-infective agents, tricyclic antidepressants, anticonvulsants, opioid analgesics, and topical ag...