Overzealous use of the CDC’s opioid prescribing guideline is harming pain patients
Overzealous use of the CDC’s opioid prescribing guideline is harming pain patients During the recent Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association, the organization’s president, Dr. Barbara McAneny, told the story of a patient of hers whose pharmacist refused to fill his prescription for an opioid medication. She had prescribed the medication to ease her […]
Upcoming NREF Grants
Upcoming NREF Grants An award from the Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (NREF) can have an extraordinary impact on a neurosurgeon’s career. “This has been a productive and rewarding year for my growth as an academic neurosurgeon. I have gone from being a resident with some interest in research to an investigator with much larger ideas and […]
Federal Pain Research Strategy
Federal Pain Research Strategy The NIH Office of Pain Policy is pleased to announce the release of the Federal Pain Research Strategy. The Federal Pain Research Strategy (FPRS) is an effort of the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee (IPRCC) and the National Institutes of Health, Office of Pain Policy to oversee development of a long-term strategic […]
Theory to Practice: Better Pain Treatment Through Advances in Spinal Stimulation
Theory to Practice: Better Pain Treatment Through Advances in Spinal Stimulation Ellen L. Air, MD, PhD, FAANS | FeaturesAANS Neurosurgeon: Volume 26, Number 3, 2017 Utilizing scientific theory for clinical application can lead to breakthroughs for patients. One remarkable example was the gate theory of pain rapidity of translation into a surgical treatment for pain. […]
Neuroablation: An Under-utilized Tool
Neuroablation: An Under-utilized Tool Jason M. Schwalb, MD, FAANS | FeaturesAANS Neurosurgeon: Volume 26, Number 3, 2017 Cancer pain continues to be a significant problem since the mid 1980s, despite the promulgation of the World Health Organization (WHO) (1) analgesic ladder. The statistics are daunting: Pain is reported in 60-85 percent of those with advanced cancer (2). […]
Change the Equation: Polyanalagesic Options in the Perioperative Period
Change the Equation: Polyanalagesic Options in the Perioperative Period Jennifer A. Sweet, MD; Jason M. Schwalb, MD, FAANS | FeaturesAANS Neurosurgeon: Volume 26, Number 3, 2017 Although Americans comprise roughly 5 percent of the world’s population, they consume 99 percent of the world’s hydrocodone and 83 percent of its oxycodone, resulting in one opioid-related death […]
Opioid Prescriptions — What is a Neurosurgeon’s Responsibility?
Opioid Prescriptions — What is a Neurosurgeon’s Responsibility? Christopher J. Winfree, MD, FAANS; Sharona Ben-Haim, MD | FeaturesAANS Neurosurgeon: Volume 26, Number 3, 2017 The Point position is taken by Sharona Ben-Haim, MD. The Counterpoint position is taken by Christopher J. Winfree, MD, FAANS. Point: Neurosurgeons take care of patients in both acute and chronic […]
Neurosurgeons Rise Up to Address the Opioid Crisis in America
Neurosurgeons Rise Up to Address the Opioid Crisis in America Jennifer A. Sweet, MD; Christopher J. Winfree, MD, FAANS; Jason M. Schwalb, MD, FAANS | FeaturesAANS Neurosurgeon: Volume 26, Number 3, 2017 Organized neurosurgery continues to fight for our ability to provide safe, effective, evidence-based neurosurgical alternatives to manage chronic pain and reduce long-term opioid […]
How Technology Is Simplifying Relief Of Chronic Pain
How Technology Is Simplifying Relief Of Chronic Pain (BPT) – Doctors hate seeing patients suffering from chronic pain, and not just because their instinct is immediately to want to help their patients to feel better. One of the primary challenges doctors confront is that even though chronic pain is common, it can be extremely difficult […]
Neurosurgeons Partner with AMA Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse
Neurosurgeons Partner with AMA Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse “Consider that every day, 44 Americans die as a result of prescription opioid overdose, and the rate of heroin-related overdose deaths has nearly quadrupled since 2002. In addition, the nation is seeing an increase in opioid-related pediatric exposures and poisonings. There has been a distressing […]