December Pain Management Supplement Contents
Pain Management for the Internist
Assessment, Treatment, Follow-Up
A comprehensive approach to pain management
Pain is one of the most common reasons patients seek help.
Assessment
Assessing Pain
Physicians often underestimate the severity of patients' pain.
Treatment
Managing Pain
Physicians use pain intensity scales to categorize pain and assess the effects of a treatment regimen.
Prescribing opioids
Routes of opioid administration
Interventional approaches have become increasingly common and effective in treating patients with chronic pain.
Common side effects of opioids
Patients can develop intolerable side effects to an individual opioid.
Tolerance
Tolerance, dependence and addiction
Physicians need to periodically monitor patients on long-term opioid therapy for inappropriate or dangerous drug-use patterns.
Anatomy
The anatomy of pain
Three pathophysiologic mechanisms are viable therapeutic targets.
Clinical exercises
Five scenarios to test your dosing acumen.
Contact ACP Internist
Send comments to ACP Internist staff at acpinternist@acponline.org.