[Incidence of constipation in patients with outpatient opioid therapy]. / Auftreten von Obstipation bei Patienten mit ambulanter Opioidtherapie.

BACKGROUND: Constipation is a common complication in patients with opioid therapy. Additionally, patient-related risk factors also contribute to the development of constipation and these factors have to be integrated into an individualized treatment plan. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of constipation in patients with opioid therapy in an outpatient setting and to analyze the risk factors that contribute to the development of constipation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted in two university affiliated outpatient departments at the Charité hospital in Berlin. The trial included all consecutively treated patients with opioid therapy of at least 4 weeks duration. The study was conducted from January 2013 to August 2013. Constipation was defined according to the Rome III criteria. RESULTS: Out of 1166 screened patients, altogether 171 patients were included with a median duration of opioid therapy of 5 years. The most common diagnoses were back pain, musculoskeletal pain and neuropathic pain. In 14% of the treated patients symptoms of constipation were detected and another 35% needed laxatives for symptom control resulting in an overall incidence of constipation of 49%. The remaining 51% of the patients did not use any laxatives and did not experience symptoms of constipation. Age and dosing of opioid therapy significantly increased the risk of consipation but duration of opioid therapy was not related to the incidence of constipation. DISCUSSION: The incidence of constipation in this population remains high although a relevant number of patients were intermittently free of symptoms without using laxatives. An individualized therapy plan and patient education seem to be important elements to control opioid-associated constipation.

[Practice of regional anesthesia for chronic pain patients in specialized pain services : A nationwide survey in Germany]. / Praxis der regionalanästhesiologischen Behandlung chronischer Schmerzpatienten in der stationären und ambulanten Versorgung : Eine deutschlandweite Umfrage.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of chronic pain has been estimated to be 19% in the European population and criteria for disabling chronic pain were found in approximately 7% of the German population. Clinical care for these patients is provided in ambulant and hospital-associated facilities. In this context, invasive interventions are part of the diagnosis and treatment of several specific diseases. Current data on the structure of clinical care based regional anesthesia for chronic pain patients in Germany are not available. OBJECTIVE: This study focused on the application and practice of interventional procedures in the context of pain management. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An internet-based survey addressing pain facilities and pain specialists in Germany was carried out. The response rate achieved 54%. RESULTS: Overall 79% of the pain therapists who responded included regional anesthesia techniques in the therapeutic spectrum in up to 25% of patients. The leading indications for invasive procedures were back pain and neuropathic pain. Two thirds of the therapists reported performing a series of blocks. A reduction of pain intensity of 30-50% was often reported as a sufficient criterion for the success of regional anesthesia interventions. Typically, approximately 40% of the chronic pain patients undergoing a series of blocks achieved sufficient pain relief which lasted most commonly for 12 weeks up to 6 months. CONCLUSION: This survey describes the current structures of specialized pain facilities for regional anesthesia in Germany including responses from predominantly anesthesiologists in a hospital-associated setting. In light of the limited evidence in the literature there is no consensus on the interventional therapeutic management of chronic pain. Especially the application of a series of blocks and the frequency as well as criteria to support continuing or terminating a series of regional anesthesia interventions are not sufficiently evaluated. This survey also gives an incentive for a possible revision of the existing practice in regional anesthesia in the context of multimodal therapy and currently existing guidelines in future clinical studies.

[Breakthrough pain and short-acting opioids]. / Durchbruchschmerzen und kurz wirksame Opioide.

Conventional opioid therapy consists of the regular administration of extended-release opioids following fixed time intervals and, as needed, the supplemental use of an immediate-release formulation. For the patient needs of such rescue medication, recent studies distinguished different scenarios, such as an inadequate daily opioid dose or time interval (end-of-dose failure) from so-called breakthrough pain where the attacks can suddenly occur either spontaneously (idiopathic pain) or due to certain provocations (incident pain) despite optimal dose adjustment. In line with this time course, a fast and short-lasting elevation of the opioid plasma concentration seems to be reasonable. Although in a recent European survey breakthrough pain attacks in the majority of cancer pain patients were sufficiently treated with immediate-release opioids, currently running clinical trials examine whether the application of transmucosal or intranasal fentanyl with their known reduced time to maximum plasma concentrations show a possible advantage in comparison to immediate-release opioids. In these clinical trials the pain intensity and number of pain episodes were significantly reduced following transmucosal or intranasal fentanyl; however, the magnitude of these effects does not convincingly appear to be clinically relevant. Among other reasons this may be related to the fact that those patients who would perhaps benefit from such treatment have not yet been identified.