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FDA Requests Removal of OPANA-ER from the Market
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked Endo International to withdraw Opana ER from the market, stating that benefits no longer outweigh its risks of this long-acting opioid.
Read ArticleOhio Sues Five Pharma Companies Over Opioid Epidemic
Ohio is suing five major drug manufacturers, accusing them of misrepresenting the risks of prescription opioid painkillers that has resulted in the current opioid epidemic.
Read ArticleHigh Fiber Intake May Decrease Osteoarthritis Knee Pain
Dai, Felson and colleagues report in Annals of Rheumatic Disease that high dietary fiber lowers the risk of symptomatic osteoathritis (SxOA), but the radiographic benefits remain unclear. (Citation source http://buff.ly/2rHv9yd)
Read ArticleNon-Prescribed Opioid Abuse by Young Adults
Journal of Addiction Medicine reported that young adults often are "self-medicated" to manage pain.
Read ArticleCDC Shows a 40% Lifetime Risk of Symptomatic Hand Osteoarthritis
Qin and colleagues have published in Arthritis & Rheumatology that 40% of people will be affected by symptomatic osteoarthritis in at least one hand. (Citation source: http://buff.ly/2qTUscZ)
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – 5 May 2017
Dr Jack Cush reviews highlights from the news last week on RheumNow.com:
Read ArticleSpinal Manipulation Equal to NSAIDS for Acute Low Back Pain
JAMA has published a review of 15 RCTs (1711 patients) analyzing the role of spinal manipulation therapy in patients with acute low back pain. The authors found modest improvements in pain and function at up to 6 weeks, with temporary minor musculoskeletal harms.
Read ArticleLyrica Fails in Sciatica Pain
Lyrica (pregabalin) was first approved in 2004 and since has been studied and approved for use in neuropathic pain (associated with diabetic neuropathy), postherpetic neuralgia, partial onset seizures, fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain with spinal cord injury.
Read ArticleLimited Benefits with Intra-Discal Steroid Injections for Back Pain
A a randomized trial published in Annals of Internal Medicine shows that intradiscal glucocorticoid injection has limited (1 month) efficacy in treating low back pain (LBP) associated with active discopathy, yet decreased over time.
Read ArticleAAOS: High Prevalence of Low-Value Interventions in Pre-Op Knee OA
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons announced five measures that inappropriately increase costs in those undergoing total knee replacement (TKR). Data was presented yesterday at the annual 2017 AAOS Annual Meeting in San Diego.
Read ArticleCan Marijuana Reduce Opioid Dependance?
The Washington Post has reported on the variable laws, views and use of marijuana in treating pain.
Currently 1.4 million patients in 28 states use legal medical marijuana for a variety of medical conditions - chronic pain being one.
Read ArticleACP Recommends a Drug-Free Approach to Back Pain
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that physicians avoid prescribing drugs, especially narcotics, for patients with acute or subacute low back pain.
Read ArticleChronic Pain Associated with Poverty and Less Education
Poorer and less-educated older Americans are more likely to suffer from chronic pain than those with greater wealth and more education, but the disparity between the two groups is much greater than previously thought, according to new research.
Read ArticleNSAIDs Ineffective in Back Pain
The George Institute for Global Health has performed a systematic review of drugs used to treat back pain. Their findings, published in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, shows that only one in six improve their pain with NSAID therapy.
Read ArticleThe Challenge of Screening for Obstructive Sleep Apnea
A JAMA article presents the US Public Health Task Force review of OSA testing.
Read ArticleDSB - Safety Update and Drug Shortages January 2017
RheumNow will periodically report safety issues as Drug Safety Bulletins. These will update you with safety issues, label changes and reports of new, ongoing and resolved drug shortages that affect rheumatology. If you have suggestions or information about specific drug shortages or drug safety issues, please email us at info@rheumnow.com.
Read ArticleThe RheumNow Week in Review – 20 January 2017
Dr. Jack Cush reviews highlights from the past week on RheumNow.
Read ArticleEULAR Revised Recommendations for Fibromyalgia
The European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) recommendations for fibromyalgia (FM) management were published in 2007 and largely had recommendations based on expert opinion’. These guidelines were updated in May of 2015 after a systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the data.
Read ArticlePatient and Provider Education Fails to Improve Osteoarthritis Outcomes
A randomized trial of 537 knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients in the Duke Healthcare system has shown that patient- and provider interventions were no better than the usual standard of care.
Read ArticleModest Benefits with Intraarticular Corticosteroids in Knee Osteoarthritis
The current online edition of JAMA examines the evidence from 27 clinical trials and 1767 patients to assess the impact of intra-articular corticosteroids in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA).