Pain

RiVive is the second nonprescription naloxone product approved by the FDA, signaling a proactive effort to increase accessibility and consumer availability of life-saving medication.

Most (73%) patients surveyed expressed they sought to completely stop or never start using opioids for their chronic pain.

At the 12-month mark, opioid discontinuation occurred in 29% of patients in the intervention cohort compared with only 7% in the usual care group.

Buprenorphine is available either in a weekly injection formulation and a monthly formulation for patients already being treated with buprenorphine.

The approval was based on data from a pharmacodynamic study which showed nalmefene provided a fast onset of reversal of respiratory depression from the synthetic opioid remifentanil.

New CDC data show high-impact chronic pain has been decreasing since 2016, though the issue continues to disparately impact certain populations.

The approval, which is for 4 mg naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, marks the first OTC, nonprescription approval for a naloxone nasal spray and allows the product to be sold directly to consumers in a variety of retail locations well as online.

The comparative safety and effectiveness of analgesic medications for acute non-specific low back pain are unclear, highlighting the need for higher quality randomized controlled trials comparing different medications.

Electroacupuncture also resulted in a greater relief for the majority of OIC symptoms and improved the quality of life for this patient population and had no effects on cancer pain and its opioid treatment dosage.

Abbott's Proclaim XR spinal cord stimulation system allows patients with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy to improve quality of life using a system that is easily incorporated into their everyday lives.

“The fact that patients report substituting cannabis for pain medications so much underscores the need for research on the benefits and risk of using cannabis for chronic pain,” investigators stated.

Based on the identified biomarkers, it was possible to distinguish patients with a good predictive value for pain, sleep, and anxiety.

A cohort study aimed to examine the risk of overdose when treating patients with benzodiazepines compared with alternative therapies for sleep disorders, specifically in young people.

Neither intervention group demonstrated any significant improvements in intensity of chronic breathlessness after taking regular, low-dose, extended-release morphine.

Dr. Craig Granowitz of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals details the success of the LX9211 clinical trial for painful diabetic neuropathy and the unique study design.

LX9211 is a potent, orally delivered, selective small molecule inhibitor of adaptor-associated kinase 1 (AAK1).

CDC investigators stated that the expansion of telehealth strategies is “urgently needed” to provide medications for opioid use disorder because it could increase retention in care and improve outcomes for OUD.

A recent study developed framework to improve fall prevention methodology across the country’s primary health care system.

Reductions in prescribed benzodiazepines were especially noted in continuing prescriptions.

New comparative effectiveness data go against CDC recommendations for tapering or abruptly ending long-term opioid prescription.

FDA approved combination therapy relugolix, estradiol, and norethindrone acetate (Myfembree) for the management of moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis.

After March 2020, overdose deaths not involving methadone continued to increase whereas methadone-involved overdose deaths remained stable.

According to a new report from the CDC, as fatal drug overdoses increase across the board, the Black and Indigenous communities represent a significantly greater death rates.

Data suggest continued prescribing, not initial prescribing, is linked to opioid addiction risk among exposed family members.

Intravenous opioid use for VOC decreased by 52% in inpatient services between 2017-2018, while oral opioid use increased.