Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0344307 (analgesia)
 28,200 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pain relief for the cancer patient in the hospice setting is almost always achievable. Cancer pain is caused by tumor growth and by psychosocial and spiritual factors. Opioid drugs are the mainstay of effective treatment. Morphine is the opioid drug of choice. Although tolerance to opioids occurs, tumor growth is the usual reason for escalating opioid dose. Addiction almost never occurs in the cancer patient with pain. These patients don't exhibit drug-seeking behavior or experience the psychic high seen in drug addicts. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and adjuvant analgesics are synergistic with opioids in providing analgesia and allow lower opioid doses and fewer side effects. Ten to 15 percent of hospice patients will require regional anesthesia for pain relief. The hospice team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, aides, and volunteers is more effective than any single health care provider in achieving optimal pain relief and comfort.
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PMID:Cancer pain management in the hospice setting. 753 76

Patients in the ICU who require intubation and mechanical ventilation benefit from adequate sedation and analgesia. Traditionally, this has been achieved using benzodiazepines and opioids. Alternatively, propofol is being administered for sedation of patients in the ICU with increasing frequency. Propofol has a number of properties that make it a potentially superior choice for sedation of intubated ICU patients. The rapid onset and offset of sedation with propofol, even after prolonged administration, allow for greater control over the level of sedation and more rapid weaning from mechanical ventilation. In addition, long-term administration of propofol does not appear to be associated with the development of tolerance, addiction, or withdrawal following discontinuation. Propofol suppresses cellular oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production without increasing anaerobic metabolism. This may be beneficial in patients with severe hypoxemia, hypercarbia, or myocardial ischemia. Finally, the use of propofol may reduce or eliminate the need for other medications in these patients such as muscle relaxants, antihypertensives, lipid nutritional supplements, and analgesics, thereby simplifying their medication regimens and reducing the overall cost of their care while in the ICU. Propofol can be administered to critically ill patients for sedation with a high degree of safety and efficacy. Propofol causes systemic vasodilatation which may result in unwanted hypotension, especially in patients who are already hemodynamically compromised. Propofol also causes ventilatory depression, so its use should be restricted in the ICU to patients whose airway is protected by an endotracheal tube and whose ventilation is closely monitored. Finally, continuous administration of propofol may cause clinically significant hypertriglyceridemia in patients with disordered triglyceride metabolism, or in patients receiving excessive doses of propofol or parenteral lipid supplements. Although propofol is more expensive than equipotent doses of other sedative agents, the additional cost of using propofol for sedation of critically ill patients in the ICU may be more than offset by the savings accrued from faster times to extubation, shorter ICU stays, and the use of fewer medications to manage these patients. Further research needs to be done to determine the potential clinical and cost benefits of using propofol for sedation of patients in the ICU.
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PMID:Propofol: a new drug for sedation in the intensive care unit. 763 54

Optimal pain control in the dying child often requires aggressive opioid therapy that exceeds recommended parameters and may hasten death caused by respiratory depression. For pediatric nurses caring for the dying child, the administration of potentially life-shortening analgesia gives rise to a number of ethical issues. Pediatric nurses often express concern that aggressive pain control is a form of euthanasia or fear the child will develop a drug dependence. Lack of clarity about the ethical obligations and professional responsibilities of nurses who administer potentially life-shortening analgesia may also contribute to the dilemmas surrounding such situations. If left unresolved, these issues can interfere with the nurse's ability to implement an appropriate pain regimen. To provide adequate pain control, pediatric nurses who care for dying children must accomplish the following: critically examine ethical issues and underlying principles; understand the phenomena of addiction, tolerance, and physical dependence; and identify the boundaries of acceptable nursing practice when administering potentially life-shortening analgesia to terminally ill children.
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PMID:Pain management and potentially life-shortening analgesia in the terminally ill child: the ethical implications for pediatric nurses. 781 90

Pain associated with chronic pancreatitis in particular is one of the most difficult and challenging syndromes that are presented to pain centers. Narcotic addiction is a common feature in this population. In this contribution an overview will be provided of the most pain treatment modalities based upon recent developments in the field of physiopathology, surgery, medical imaging and locoregional anesthetic techniques. Based upon personal experience it becomes progressively more clear that the most efficient alternative is not offered via neurolysis of the coeliac plexus. A shortlasting cure of 7-10 days with local anesthetics, injected via a coeliac plexus- or interpleural catheter may offer comparable but better reproducible durations of analgesia. Addition of corticosteroids during celiac plexus anesthesia may have additional benefits. Despite the progress in the field of internal medicine and surgery, a permanent solution is still far away for these patients.
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PMID:Pancreatitis pain treatment: an overview. 784 44

Postoperative pain remains undertreated. Barriers to adequate postoperative analgesia include lack of knowledge regarding pain and its management, inadequate assessment, preconceived notions by nurses and physicians regarding pain and addiction, and the continued use of PRN administration of medications instead of active intervention on a scheduled basis. Knowledge regarding the physiology of pain provides nurses with information necessary to control pain. Pharmacologic management includes the use of nonopioids, opioids, and various adjuvant drugs. Principles regarding the use of these analgesics guide the nurse to use these drugs to their greatest effect. The special needs of the very young and the elderly must also be considered.
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PMID:Pharmacologic management of acute pain in the orthopaedic patient. 787 Apr 75

The mu (mu) opioid receptors, which mediate the effects of morphine, are widely distributed in brain. We have examined the distribution of mRNA encoding a mu opioid receptor in rat brain with in situ hybridization histochemistry at the single-cell level to obtain information about the cell types synthesizing this receptor. Only neurons, not glia, were labeled in discrete brain regions. High levels of labeling were detected in the thalamus, striosomes of the caudate-putamen, globus pallidus, and brain regions involved in nociception, arousal, respiratory control, and, possibly, addiction. The general distribution of the receptor mRNA paralleled that of mu opioid binding sites with some notable exceptions. These include the cerebral cortex, which contains binding sites, but very few labeled neurons. No labeling was observed in the cerebellum, a region devoid of mu binding sites. Three main findings emerged from these experiments: 1) the mRNA was present in regions mediating both the therapeutic (analgesia) and the unwanted (respiratory depression, addiction) effects of morphine, 2) the mRNA was very densely expressed by neurons known to receive dense enkephalin-containing inputs, and 3) the dissociation between the presence of binding sites and absence of mRNA in some brain regions supports a presynaptic localization of mu opioid receptors in these areas. Alternatively, other subtypes of mu opioid receptors may be encoded by a different mRNA. These results provide new insights into the receptor types and neuronal circuits involved in the effects of endogenous opioids and morphine.
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PMID:Expression of mu opioid receptor mRNA in rat brain: an in situ hybridization study at the single cell level. 808 77

On the basis of their own experience in combat casualty staging, emergency situations and various publications the authors theoretically substantiate the necessity to reinforce the structures of pre-medical and medical care with reanimation teams which must be equipped with adequate assets capable to meet with emergency situations. The article contains information about training, equipment and organic structure of these teams. Taking into account the pathophysiological mechanism of severe injuries the authors give characteristics of the volume of medical care provided by these teams at various periods of casualty staging. The article stresses the necessity to combine the conduction anesthesia with central analgesia. The authors substantiate the necessity of the quest for a new analgetic as a drug of choice at the pre-hospital period, and describe its desired characteristic features: effective analgesia without breathing depression or circulatory iatrogenic disorders; long-term analgetic effect which gives the possibility to perform evacuation to the secondary care medical unit; possibilities for national fabrication of this drug in large quantities, impossibility of addiction to this drug.
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PMID:[A resuscitation aid in the first aid and medical care for the victims of severe trauma received in emergency situations]. 823 93

This study aimed to provide evidence on community attitudes to certain death and dying issues in South Australia for a state parliamentary committee on the law and practice relating to death and dying. The following areas were studied: truth-telling, pain control, level of treatment, preferred place of death, rights of patients to refuse treatment, opinion about living wills and substituted health care decision making. A representative population survey of 625 households in metropolitan Adelaide and three major rural centres was made in August 1991, using personal interviews administered at home with one adult in each household aged over 18 years. A total of 462 (74%) adults completed the interviews. There was strong support for truth-telling by doctors about incurable cancer and impending death, although this was not universal. Fears of potential addiction, habituation, tolerance and impaired cognitive function as a result of analgesia for cancer pain were strongly expressed, particularly amongst those who reported least formal education. Those with experience of a death in the last eight years were most likely to consider the level of treatment offered to patients with incurable cancer to be inadequate, but 53% considered the level to be about right. Nearly 60% of respondents favoured death at home, but there was a trend for older people to favour death in hospital. Despite the existence of the Natural Death Act (1982), only 20% were aware that living wills were legal in South Australia. There was strong support for a medical power of attorney.
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PMID:Attitudes to some aspects of death and dying, living wills and substituted health care decision-making in South Australia: public opinion survey for a parliamentary select committee. 826 Nov 93

Chronic refractory severe pain in HIV-infected patients is a common and often neglected problem. Little data exist evaluating its epidemiology, clinical features, and treatment. Our study assessed all HIV-infected inpatients referred to the pain control service over a 2-year span. All (24) inpatients with HIV infection with chronic refractory severe pain referred to the pain control service (PCS) over a 2-year period were prospectively followed daily by trained specialists who graded the pain, recommended appropriate therapy, and assessed outcome. Ten surviving patients had further long-term outpatient follow-up. The patients included 14 intravenous drug abusers, five of whom were on methadone maintenance. Localized lower-extremity pain was present in 58%. Pain had been present for > or = 1 month in 21 (88%) and for > or = 6 months in 12 (50%). No patient had been on pain control around the clock. After PCS consultation, all surviving patients (21 of 21, 100%) had partial or total pain relief within 2 weeks (eight within 1 week) using around-the-clock opioid analgesia adjusted daily as necessary. No differences were seen between substance abusing/methadone patients and others. No significant adverse reactions or new addiction problems were found. Our conclusion is that effective pain control can be achieved using around-the-clock opioid analgesia in terminal HIV-infected patients with severe, chronic, refractory pain, even if the patients are substance abusers.
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PMID:Evaluation of recalcitrant pain in HIV-infected hospitalized patients. 826 53

Organic calcium (Ca++) channel antagonists enhance opiate-induced analgesia and antagonize respiratory depression produced by morphine in rodents. Our preliminary data indicated that verapamil reduces the subjective effects of morphine in humans. We therefore assessed morphine-verapamil interactions in 12 experienced, male polydrug users with histories of heroin abuse by using a double-blind, cross-over study design. Treatments consisted of two drug infusions. Either verapamil, 2.5 or 10 mg, or saline was infused, 30 ml i.v. over 2 min; half way through this infusion either 10 mg of morphine or saline was infused, 3 ml i.v. over 10 sec, via a second catheter. Autonomic parameters, responsiveness to pain and subjective self-reports of mood and feeling state were measured over 4 hr. Analgesia was measured using a finger pressure test and hand immersion in ice water. Respiration was measured by using respiratory inductive plethysmography and transcutaneous CO2 levels. The Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI) was used to measure the subjective effects. Morphine had a liminal effect on pain threshold, but verapamil potentiated this effect to elevate pain threshold significantly. Verapamil did not affect the ability of morphine to increase pain endurance or to produce respiratory depression. Morphine produced positive affective responses, as demonstrated by elevated scores on the Morphine-Benzedrine Group subscale of the ARCI. Verapamil alone produced no effects on any ARCI subscales; however, 10 mg of verapamil significantly reduced morphine-elevated MBG scores over a 3-hr period. The results suggest the euphorigenic and analgesic effects of opioids may be differentiated by using Ca++ channel blockers.
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PMID:Effects of verapamil on morphine-induced euphoria, analgesia and respiratory depression in humans. 826


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