Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

E.MARTIN Acute pain services are now established worldwide and guidelines have been drawn for the management of acute pain resulting from surgical or medical procedures and trauma. However, the treatment of pain after surgery is still inadequate and no progress has been made in recent years in several coun tries, including Germany. There are still innumerable patients who find the is also no early postoperative period to be an unpleasant experience. There doubt that pain plays a role in the pathogenesis of postoperative complica tions that could be avoided with effective pain management. However, concern about side effects and inadequate knowledge of the pharmacokinet ics and -dynamics of drugs is still putting constraints on treatment. An acute pain service should be responsible for adequately treating pain, training medical and nursing staff, and evaluating new and existing methods of treatment. As anesthesiologists deal with pain in the operating theater, it is not surprising that they claim a leading role for themselves in acute pain services choosing from the various postoperative pain treatment options.

Chronic pain costs the nation up to $635 billion each year in medical treatment and lost productivity. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act required the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to enlist the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in examining pain as a public health problem. In this report, the IOM offers a blueprint for action in transforming prevention, care, education, and research, with the goal of providing relief for people with pain in America. To reach the vast multitude of people with various types of pain, the nation must adopt a population-level prevention and management strategy. The IOM recommends that HHS develop a comprehensive plan with specific goals, actions, and timeframes. Better data are needed to help shape efforts, especially on the groups of people currently underdiagnosed and undertreated, and the IOM encourages federal and state agencies and private organizations to accelerate the collection of data on pain incidence, prevalence, and treatments. Because pain varies from patient to patient, healthcare providers should increasingly aim at tailoring pain care to each person's experience, and self-management of pain should be promoted. In addition, because there are major gaps in knowledge about pain across health care and society alike, the IOM recommends that federal agencies and other stakeholders redesign education programs to bridge these gaps. Pain is a major driver for visits to physicians, a major reason for taking medications, a major cause of disability, and a key factor in quality of life and productivity. Given the burden of pain in human lives, dollars, and social consequences, relieving pain should be a national priority.

Joined by an international team of leading experts, noted pain authority Dr. Steven Waldman presents comprehensive, one-of-a-kind coverage examining pain syndromes from a multidisciplinary perspective. A user-friendly, how-to-do-it format enables you to access specific guidance quickly ... and apply the information easily ... to bring faster pain relief to your patients. (Midwest).

This text covers the fundamentals of pain, the pharmacology of drugs used, and summarises the current evidence base for the management of acute pain. It provides practical direct clinical applications and strategies for the management of specific medical conditions in patient groups such as the elderly

This textbook provides an overview of pain management useful to specialists as well as non-specialists, surgeons, and nursing staff.

Thoroughly revised to reflect contemporary diagnostics and treatment, this Third Edition is a comprehensive and practical reference on the assessment and management of acute and chronic pain. This edition features 14 new chapters and is filled with new information on invasive procedures...pharmacologic interventions...neuraxial pharmacotherapy...physical and occupational therapies...diagnostic techniques...pain in terminally ill patients...cancer pain...visceral pain...rheumatologic disorders...managed care...and medicolegal issues. Reorganized with two new sections focusing on diagnostics and cancer pain. A Brandon-Hill recommended title.