Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0242429 (sore throat)
 2,760 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

At a recent seminar on pain management in Atlanta, researchers reported that health care providers do poorly when it comes to recognizing and managing the pain suffered by patients with AIDS. This lack of adequate attention is reflected in the lack of relevant studies about pain management in the medical literature. As with cancer, AIDS pain increases with disease progression. However, patients with AIDS tend to be more depressed than cancer patients, and have a higher rate of suicidal thoughts. Experts at the seminar discussed the obstacles involved in treating pain in AIDS patients who have a history of substance abuse. According to one study, pain medication addiction is rare in patients. Providers must distinguish between tolerance and physical dependence. Guidelines for managing pain in substance abusers include respecting the patient's reports of pain, and setting clear goals and conditions for opioid therapy. Using a team approach that recognizes pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, and that pays attention to psychosocial issues will also lead to greater success in treating patients with pain. The most common painful illnesses are HIV-related headaches, herpes simplex, peripheral neuropathy, back pain, herpes zoster, and throat pain.
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PMID:Clinicians not providing necessary pain relief for AIDS patients. 1136 81