Enhance your expertise with
ASIPP in Memphis on Oct. 19–20,
and earn up to 12 CMEs
| |
The long-term use of muscle relaxants may benefit patients with painful spasms or cramps and neck pain, according to a systematic review of clinical studies, but they do not appear to be beneficial for low back pain, fibromyalgia, or headaches and can have adverse effects such as sedation and dry mouth.
METHODOLOGY:
- Researchers conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effectiveness of long-term use (≥ 4 weeks) of muscle relaxants for chronic pain lasting ≥ 3 months.
- They identified 30 randomized clinical trials involving 1314 patients and 14 cohort studies involving 1168 patients, grouped according to the categories of low back pain, fibromyalgia, painful cramps or spasticity, headaches, and other syndromes.
-
Baclofen, tizanidine, cyclobenzaprine, eperisone, quinine, carisoprodol, orphenadrine, chlormezanone, and methocarbamol were the muscle relaxants assessed in comparison with placebo, other treatments, or untreated individuals.
Read More
| |
Swedish study looks at neglected issue in RA treatment
Targeted drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not created equal when it comes to pain relief, a retrospective study from Sweden indicated, although the differences appeared to be modest.
Three months after starting a new targeted RA therapy, patients on Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors reported decreases in pain that were an average of 4.0 points greater (95% CI 1.6-6.3) on a 100-point scale compared with those using tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, according to Anna Eberhard, MD, of Lund University in Malmö, Sweden, and colleagues. The difference reflected adjustments for patient demographics, disease characteristics, and previous and current treatments.
"Similar trends" that fell short of statistical significance were also seen when JAK inhibitors were compared with less popular types of biologic therapy, such as interleukin (IL)-6 inhibitors, the T-cell inhibitor abatacept (Orencia), and the B-cell depletion agent rituximab (Rituxan), the researchers reported in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Read More
| |
Abstract submissions are open for ASIPP's 2025 Annual Meeting!
The abstract submission deadline is March 10, 2025.
Don't miss this opportunity to share your insights and
help shape the future of pain management.
| |
The turf war between two types of anesthesia providers is escalating: The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has filed a trademark complaint against the recently renamed American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA), alleging its use of the word "anesthesiology" is "deceptively misdescriptive."
At issue: Who can be called an anesthesiologist?
In its complaint, filed in June 2024 with the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the 54,000-member physician society seeks to deny the nurse group the registration of its trademark. If ASA wins, it could sue AANA in federal court.
AANA denied the physicians' allegations in its recent response to the complaint.
Read More
| |
FluMist nasal spray can now be used without the help of a healthcare provider
The FDA approved FluMist for self- or caregiver-administration, making it the first influenza vaccine that does not need to be administered by a healthcare provider, the agency announced on Friday.
The nasal spray, which contains weakened forms of live virus strains, requires a prescription and is approved for the prevention of flu caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B in individuals ages 2 to 49 years.
"Today's approval of the first influenza vaccine for self- or caregiver-administration provides a new option for receiving a safe and effective seasonal influenza vaccine potentially with greater convenience, flexibility, and accessibility for individuals and families," said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. "Getting vaccinated each year is the best way to prevent influenza, which causes illness in a substantial proportion of the U.S. population every year and may result in serious complications, including hospitalization and death."
Read More
| |
Virtual
October 26, November 9,
and December 14
Click here for the complete list of upcoming exams.
ABIPP Part I; ABIPP Path - Combined DCCPM/CSM virtual exam;
ABIPP Competency Exam in IPM; ABIPP Competency Exam in Regenerative Medicine;
CSM Competency Exam; DCCPM Competency Exam
| |
PAs have important role to play, but don't have the same skill set, AMA president says
The president of the American Medical Association (AMA) responded to two previous letters from the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), rebutting claims that the AMA is waging a campaign against PAs' scope of practice.
"The AMA's work on scope of practice is based on long-standing and extensive AMA policy and most often in direct response to legislative efforts," wrote AMA President Bruce Scott, MD, in the letter to AAPA President Jason Prevelige, DMSc, MBA, PA-C, and CEO Lisa Gables.
"This includes bills based on model language offered by the AAPA, that we believe would dismantle the care team," Scott added.
"We are proud of our efforts to defeat these bills and will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of our members and patients to preserve patient access to physician-led care, which survey after survey shows is what patients want," he wrote, pointing to a recent survey AMA survey showing 95% of patients expect that a physician will be involved in their diagnosis and treatment.
Read More
| |
Registration is open for
ASIPP's 2025 Annual Meeting
We would love it if you would register and join us in Orlando!
| |
Analysis of opioid prescribing patterns reveals racial disparities
Older Black and Asian patients received significantly lower doses of opioids following hip fracture hospitalization compared with white patients, a retrospective analysis of Medicare beneficiaries showed.
Racial disparities within pain medication prescribing are present in the health care system, particularly when comparing Black and white patients, according to Kaleen N. Hayes, PharmD, PhD, an assistant professor at Brown University, and colleagues.
However, racial differences in pain management following a hip fracture have yet to be assessed, “particularly during the critical period of transitioning back to the community and resuming normal activities of daily living,” they wrote.
Read More
| |
- ASIPP Members Only Site Information - | |
-
To log in for the first time you will need to click “forgot password” at the bottom of the login window.
- Check your email and then log in as directed.
-
If you have problems logging into your account, click here.
| |
Investigational Lu AG09222 met primary end point in proof-of-concept trial
A monoclonal antibody targeting a novel migraine prevention pathway showed success in the phase II HOPE trial.
A single 750 mg intravenous infusion of investigational Lu AG09222 bested placebo in reducing migraine frequency over the subsequent 4 weeks, reported Messoud Ashina, MD, of Copenhagen University Hospital–Rigshospitalet in Denmark, and co-authors.
At baseline, the mean number of monthly migraine days was 16.7. Through week 4, the Lu AG09222 group had 6.2 fewer monthly migraine days, while the placebo group had 4.2 fewer days (difference, -2.0 days, 95% CI -3.8 to -0.3, P=0.02).
Lu AG09222 targets pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP), a vasodilating polypeptide thought be involved in migraine pathophysiology.
Read More
| |
Pain Medicine Case Reports (PMCR) and Editor-in-Chief Alaa Abd-Elsayed, MD, PhD would like to invite you to submit case reports and case series to the PMCR journal. Your article will be published free of charge.
Open access journals are freely available online for immediate worldwide open access to the full text of published articles. There is no subscription fee for open access journals. Open access journals are no different from traditional subscription-based journals: they undergo the same peer review and quality control as any other scholarly journal.
Interested in becoming a member of the PMCR Editorial Board?
Editorial board members are asked to review 2-6 manuscripts per year. Please submit your most up-to-date CV to sgold@asipp.org for consideration.
For more information or to submit your articles, click here.
| |
Ashlyn Brown, MD, and Saba Javed, MD
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cancer commonly presents discomfort from abnormal cell growth in healthy tissue and is often inadequately managed. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), mainly for non-cancer chronic pain, has emerged as a minimally invasive option for neuropathic cancer-related pain when conventional methods fail. Limited research, primarily in adults, has focused on PNS in the non-oncological population.
CASE REPORT: A 14-year-old adolescent girl with a history of obesity, diabetes, and Ewing sarcoma in her left proximal humerus experienced severe pain, initially rated at 10/10. After undergoing ultrasound-guided left suprascapular PNS as a 60-day bridge therapy to chemotherapy, her pain improved to 3/10 at lead removal and remained at 4/10 at 3 months postremoval.
CONCLUSION: PNS is a promising and less invasive neuromodulation approach for managing tumor-related bone pain. Our case study illustrates the effectiveness of PNS placement for significant pain reduction, although limitations, such as delayed response and the need for further randomized-controlled studies, are acknowledged.
KEY WORDS: Neuromodulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, Ewing sarcoma, arm pain, bone pain, chemotherapy, teen, adolescent
Read More
| |
Anna Folli, BSc, Deborah Falla, PhD, Corrado Cescon, PhD, Federica Vanoni, MD, PhD, Emiliano Soldini, MSc, and Marco Barbero, PhD
Abstract
BACKGROUND: A pain drawing is a self-administered assessment that requires the patient to shade in on a body chart the areas in which he or she experiences pain, regardless of the intensity. Pain drawings have already been validated in several adult populations.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to establish adolescents’ test-retest reliability in reporting the extent and location of their pain using a paper-based pain drawing.
STUDY DESIGN: A one-day test-retest reliability study was set up.
SETTING: The study took place in 2 separate locations—a pediatric hospital and a private physiotherapy practice in Ticino, in the southern part of Switzerland. This reliability study was approved by the local ethics committee of Ticino (2021-00492 CE 3832).
METHODS: Adolescents with musculoskeletal pain (aged 11-16 years) were included. All participants were asked to shade the areas in which they experienced pain over the previous week. After the administration of a questionnaire and the acquisition of further personal data, the pain drawing was administered again. The pain drawings were then scanned and analyzed using a digital platform, which allowed the extraction of pain extent and location values. The test-retest reliability was evaluated on these data. The intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis were used to assess the reliability of the reporting of the pain extent, whereas the Jaccard similarity coefficient was used to calculate the reliability of the reporting of the pain location.
RESULTS: The reporting of the pain extent was observed to have excellent test-retest reliability: ICC2,1: 0.959 (95% CI: 0.925-0.978). The Bland-Altman analysis showed a mean difference close to 0: -0.010% (limits of agreements -0.962 to 0.942). The reliability of the reporting of pain location was also supported by the Jaccard index mean score of 0.82 (± 0.19).
LIMITATIONS: Reliability of reporting may vary depending on the nature of the pain, its duration, or the type of disorder and body areas involved.
CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents complaining musculoskeletal pain showed reliability in reporting pain extent and location using pain drawings.
KEY WORDS: Pain drawing, reliability, adolescents, pain, evaluation, body chart, pain extent, pain location
Read More
| |
James Giordano, PhD, and John R. Shook, PhD
Abstract
Newer definitions of pain remain suggestive of categorization by mainly neurological or psychological bases. All pain recruits cortical interpretation for any sort of directive effects in awareness, attention, and action. That unity of purpose in pain’s multi-pathway manifestations can inspire neurophilosophical reflections on the existentiality, subjectivity, and sociality of pain. Pain is neither so subjective as to be relieved of meaning, nor so objective that multi-modal approaches can take turns at targeting its relief. The problem of objectifying the subjective is essential for addressing issues of assessing and treating pain. Integrative plans for pain care make sense if and when all aspects of pain’s character are deemed to be integral, and are actually integrated in both theory in practice. A standpoint on the “entity-identity” of pain afflicting the whole person implies that pain is expressed behaviorally and as articulately as circumstances permit. Pain speaks, even for those not able to speak, as their patterns of brain activity may be representative of pain. Heeding pain’s prescriptive voice requires collective interpretations before attempting coordinated treatments. Pain’s prescription will remain unfilled until its full reality is recognized at a personal level, where comprehensive care is mobilized for the whole patient. Heeding pain looks to the central figure that is never absent from any painful situation, namely the individual person-in-pain. That holistic and humanistic value to mobilizing resources against pain should be reflected in the practice of pain medicine, and the craft of the pain physician.
KEY WORDS: Acute pain, chronic pain, nociception, nociperception, brain, subjectivity, neuroscience, neurophilosophy
Read More
| |
ASIPP is now in collaboration with Curi Medical Liability Program
| |
Since this malpractice insurance program officially launched in November 2018, ASIPP has signed up hundreds of providers with an average savings of 30%. This is professional liability insurance tailored to our specialty and will stand up for us and defend our practices.
Curi is a full-service advisory firm that serves physicians and their practices. Their valued advice is grounded in your priorities and elevated in your outcomes. They are driven by a deep understanding of your specific circumstances in medicine, business, and life. To read a few important points to keep in mind about the program, including discounts, administrative defense, cyber coverage, aggressive claims handling, and complimentary risk management CME activities, visit our website.
| |
Group Purchasing Organization Offer Better Pricing and Creates Added Value
ASIPP has formed a partnership with Henry Schein and PedsPal, a national GPO that has a successful history of negotiating better prices on medical supplies and creating value-added services for independent physicians. Working with MedAssets, PedsPal provides excellent pricing on products like contrast media that alleviate some of the financial pressures you experience today.
Learn More
| | |
ASIPP, Fedora Healthcare Solutions Partnership
ASIPP offers our members the benefit of a unique revenue cycle management/ billing service.
We have received a tremendous amount of interest in the ASIPP billing and coding program.
Click here to learn more about the negotiated rate for practices and more!
| |
Like and follow ASIPP® on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn for the most
up-to-date news related to you, your practice, and your patients!
| | | | |