Treatment of complex regional pain syndrome: an updated systematic review and narrative synthesis.

PURPOSE: Although multiple treatments have been advocated for complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the levels of supportive evidence are variable and sometimes limited. The purpose of this updated review is to provide a critical analysis of the evidence pertaining to the treatment of CRPS derived from recent randomized-controlled trials (RCTs). SOURCE: The MEDLINE, EMBASE, Psychinfo, and CINAHL databases were searched to identify relevant RCTs conducted on human subjects and published in English between 1 May 2009 and 24 August 2017. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The search yielded 35 RCTs of variable quality pertaining to the treatment of CRPS. Published trials continue to support the use of bisphosphonates and short courses of oral steroids in the setting of CRPS. Although emerging evidence suggests a therapeutic role for ketamine, memantine, intravenous immunoglobulin, epidural clonidine, intrathecal clonidine/baclofen/adenosine, aerobic exercise, mirror therapy, virtual body swapping, and dorsal root ganglion stimulation, further confirmatory RCTs are warranted. Similarly, trials also suggest an expanding role for peripheral sympathetic blockade (i.e., lumbar/thoracic sympathetic, stellate ganglion, and brachial plexus blocks). CONCLUSIONS: Since our prior systematic review article (published in 2010), 35 RCTs related to CRPS have been reported. Nevertheless, the quality of trials remains variable. Therefore, further research is required to continue investigating possible treatments for CRPS.

A Review of Opioid-Sparing Modalities in Perioperative Pain Management: Methods to Decrease Opioid Use Postoperatively.

There is an epidemic of opioid use, abuse, and misuse in the United States, which results in significant morbidity and mortality. It may be difficult to reduce perioperative opioid use given known acute surgical trauma and resultant pain; however, the discrete and often limited nature of postoperative pain also may make management easier in part by utilizing nonopioid modalities, such as regional anesthesia/analgesia, and multimodal analgesia, which may decrease the need for powerful opioids. This article reviews the relevant literature describing the use of adjunct medications, regional anesthesia and analgesic techniques, and regional block additives in the context of providing adequate pain control while lessening opioid use.

Improvements in pain outcomes in a Canadian pediatric teaching hospital following implementation of a multifaceted knowledge translation initiative.

BACKGROUND: A previous audit performed at a tertiary / quaternary pediatric hospital in Toronto, Ontario, demonstrated suboptimal assessment and treatment of children's pain. Knowledge translation (KT) initiatives (education, reminders, audit and feedback) were implemented to address identified care gaps; however, the impact is unknown. OBJECTIVES: To determine the impact of KT initiatives on pain outcomes including process outcomes (eg, pain assessment and management practices) and clinical outcomes (eg, pain prevalence and intensity); and to benchmark additional pain practices, particularly opioid administration and painful procedures. METHODS: Medical records at The Hospital for Sick Children (Toronto, Ontario) were reviewed on a single day in September 2007. Pain assessment and management practices, and pain prevalence and intensity in the preceding 24 h were recorded on a standardized data collection form. Where possible, pain outcomes were compared with previous audit results. RESULTS: Records of 265 inpatients were audited. Sixty-three per cent of children underwent a documented pain assessment compared with 27% in an audit conducted previously (P<0.01). Eighty-three per cent of children with documented pain received at least one pain management intervention. Overall, 51% of children received pharmacological therapy, and 15% received either a psychological or physical pain-relieving intervention. Of those assessed, 44% experienced pain in the previous 24 h versus 66% in the previous audit (P<0.01). Fewer children experienced severe pain compared with the first audit (8.7% versus 26.1%; P<0.01). One-third of children received opioids; 19% of these had no recorded pain assessment. Among 131 children who underwent a painful procedure, 21% had a concurrent pain assessment. Painful procedures were accompanied by a pain-relieving intervention in 12.5% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Following KT initiatives, significant improvements in pain processes (pain assessment documentation and pain management interventions) and clinical outcomes (pain prevalence, pain intensity) were observed. Further improvements are recommended, specifically with respect to procedural pain practices and opioid utilization patterns.

Should the concomitant use of erlotinib and acid-reducing agents be avoided? The drug interaction between erlotinib and acid-reducing agents.

CONTEXT: Erlotinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, exhibits a drug interaction with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine-2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs). The manufacturer recommends avoidance of the combination however, the extent of the drug interaction is not clearly understood. Evidence acquisition. A literature search was performed and the pharmacokinetics and pharmacology of acid-reducing agents were reviewed. RESULTS: Acid-reducing agents reduce the solubility, and subsequent absorption, of erlotinib by raising gastric pH. Our literature search was unable to identify any published studies or case reports that address this issue. Until more information is available, the clinical relevance of this interaction, and whether it actually leads to failure of therapy, is unknown. PPIs would all be expected to exhibit a similar effect on erlotinib. Of the H2RAs, co-administration appears to have a greater impact than administering them separately. Ranitidine, famotidine, and nizatidine should likely have similar effects on erlotinib absorption. Cimetidine has a shorter duration of action, but should be used with caution because of its effects on cytochrome P450 3A4, a pathway also utilized by erlotinib. Antacids are not expected to have a significant effect. CONCLUSIONS: The clinical relevance of this drug interaction is unknown. Until more information is available, decision making regarding this interaction should be on a patient-by-patient basis. The indication for acid-reducing therapy should be reevaluated and stopping therapy or changing therapy can be considered. However, there may be occasions where any benefit of such actions will be exceeded by its risks.

Lumbar spinal stenosis: a brief review of the nonsurgical management.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this brief narrative review is to summarize the evidence derived from randomized controlled trials pertaining to the nonsurgical treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). SOURCE: The MEDLINE (January 1950 to the fourth week of January 2010) and EMBASE (January 1980 to 2009, week 53) databases, the MESH term "spinal stenosis", and the key words, "vertebral canal stenosis" and "neurogenic claudication", were searched. Results were limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted on human subjects, written in English, and published in peer-reviewed journals. Only RCTs pertaining to nonsurgical treatment were considered. Studies comparing conservative and surgical management or different surgical techniques were not included in the review. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The search criteria yielded 13 RCTs. The average enrolment was 54 subjects per study. Blinded assessment and sample size justification were provided in 85% and 39% of RCTs, respectively. The available evidence suggests that parenteral calcitonin, but not intranasal calcitonin, can transiently decrease pain in patients with LSS. In the setting of epidural blocks, local anesthetics can improve pain and function, but the benefits seem short-lived. The available evidence does not support the addition of steroids to local anesthetic agents. Based on the limited evidence, passive physical therapy seems to provide minimal benefits in LSS. The optimal regimen for active physiotherapy remains unknown. Although benefits have been reported with gabapentin, limaprost, methylcobalamin, and epidural adhesiolysis, further trials are required to validate these findings. CONCLUSIONS: Because of their variable quality, published RCTs can provide only limited evidence to formulate recommendations pertaining to the nonsurgical treatment of LSS. In this narrative review, no study was excluded based on factors such as sample size justification, statistical power, blinding, definition of intervention allocation, or clinical outcomes. This aspect may represent a limitation as it may serve to overemphasize evidence derived from "weaker" trials. Further well-designed RCTs are warranted.

Treatment of complex regional pain syndrome: a review of the evidence.

PURPOSE: This narrative review summarizes the evidence derived from randomized controlled trials pertaining to the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). SOURCE: Using the MEDLINE (January 1950 to April 2009) and EMBASE (January 1980 to April 2009) databases, the following medical subject headings (MeSH) were searched: "Complex Regional Pain Syndrome", "Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy", and "causalgia" as well as the key words "algodystrophy", "Sudeck's atrophy", "shoulder hand syndrome", "neurodystrophy", "neuroalgodystrophy", "reflex neuromuscular dystrophy", and "posttraumatic dystrophy". Results were limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted on human subjects, written in English, published in peer-reviewed journals, and pertinent to treatment. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The search criteria yielded 41 RCTs with a mean of 31.7 subjects per study. Blinded assessment and sample size justification were provided in 70.7% and 19.5% of RCTs, respectively. Only biphosphonates appear to offer clear benefits for patients with CRPS. Improvement has been reported with dimethyl sulfoxide, steroids, epidural clonidine, intrathecal baclofen, spinal cord stimulation, and motor imagery programs, but further trials are required. The available evidence does not support the use of calcitonin, vasodilators, or sympatholytic and neuromodulative intravenous regional blockade. Clear benefits have not been reported with stellate/lumbar sympathetic blocks, mannitol, gabapentin, and physical/occupational therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Published RCTs can only provide limited evidence to formulate recommendations for treatment of CRPS. In this review, no study was excluded based on factors such as sample size justification, statistical power, blinding, definition of intervention allocation, or clinical outcomes. Thus, evidence derived from "weaker" trials may be overemphasized. Further well-designed RCTs are warranted.

Safety of triptans for migraine headaches during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

QUESTION: A patient who just found out that she is pregnant and suffers from migraine headaches informs me that she has been taking naratriptan. She indicates that she is planning on breastfeeding her baby and might need to continue treatment. How safe are the medications from this class of drugs during pregnancy and breastfeeding? ANSWER: Accumulated data suggest that exposure to sumatriptan during pregnancy does not increase the risk of birth defects above the baseline rate. There are currently insufficient data to confirm the safety of other triptans; however, evidence to date is reassuring. Information regarding safety of triptans while breastfeeding is limited but also reassuring, as the minimal amounts excreted into the milk are insufficient to cause any adverse effects on the breastfeeding infant.

Ultrasonography for neuraxial blocks: a review of the evidence.

INTRODUCTION: This narrative review summarizes the evidence derived from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) pertaining to the use of adjunctive ultrasonography (US) for neuraxial blocks. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: The literature search was conducted using the MEDLINE, EMBASE and PUBMED databases. For the MEDLINE and EMBASE searches, the MESH terms "ultrasonography" and key word "ultrasound" were queried; using the operator "and", they were combined with the MESH terms "neuraxial block," "epidural anesthesia," "epidural analgesia," "spinal anesthesia," "spinal analgesia," "intrathecal anesthesia," "intrathecal analgesia," "caudal anesthesia," and "caudal analgesia." For the PUBMED search, the search terms "ultrasound neuraxial," "ultrasound intrathecal," "ultrasound epidural" (limited to clinical trials), "ultrasound spinal" (limited to clinical trials), and "ultrasound caudal" (limited to clinical trials) were queried. Seventeen RCTs were retained for analysis. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Compared to conventional palpation of landmarks, US assistance (i.e., preprocedural scanning) results in fewer needle passes/insertions and skin punctures for neuraxial blocks in obstetrical and surgical patients. These benefits seem most pronounced when expert operators carry out the sonographic exams and for patients displaying difficult spinal anatomy. Preliminary findings also suggest that US provides similar pain relief and functional improvement to fluoroscopy for epidural/caudal steroid injection in patients afflicted with chronic spinal pain. Although one trial demonstrated shorter needling time with US guidance (i.e., real-time scanning of needle advancement) compared to US assistance, these findings require further validation. CONCLUSIONS: Published reports of RCTs provide evidence to formulate limited recommendations regarding the use of adjunctive US for neuraxial blocks. Further well-designed RCTs are warranted.

Intramuscular Olanzapine in the Management of Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms in Hospitalized Older Adults: A Retrospective Descriptive Study.

Background. While behavioral and psychological symptoms are frequent in hospitalized older adults with dementia or delirium, data supporting the off-label use of intramuscular atypical antipsychotics remain scarce. We examined the use of short-acting intramuscular (IM) olanzapine in hospitalized older adults to manage behavioral and psychological symptoms. Methods. A retrospective observational study of inpatients 65 years or older with at least one order for olanzapine IM during admission in urban Ontario Canada was conducted. Patient demographics, prescriptions for olanzapine IM, reason for administration, perceived effectiveness, adverse events, concurrently prescribed psychotropics, comorbidities, and patient discharge destination were recorded. Results. Among 82 patients aged 65-96 years (mean ± SD 79.3 ± 7.7) 85 cases were identified. Cognitive impairment or dementia affected 63.5% and 50.6% had comorbidities. Olanzapine IM was ordered 102 times and 34 patients (41%) received at least one dose. The intended efficacy was achieved in 79.4% of 78 cases of 124 doses given (62.9%). Fourteen (41%) patients who received doses experienced adverse events, with sedation and hypotension being the most common. Conclusions. Olanzapine IM appears effective in hospitalized older adults but is associated with potential adverse events. Structured monitoring and documentation are needed to ensure safe use in this high-risk population.