News | Chronic pain

News

‘Think Twice’ campaign cuts unnecessary opioid prescribing for thousands of patients

Researchers discovered that opioid prescribing fell where GPs were given two-monthly feedback about prescribing levels.…

Published: 6 October 2021

News

Opioid prescribing for patients waiting for hip and knee surgery increased by 40% during pandemic

A surge in opioid prescribing for pre-operative pain has been attributed to longer wait times for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Published: 15 September 2021

News

Expert panel issues ‘weak’ recommendation for use of medical cannabis for chronic pain

A BMJ rapid recommendation for medical cannabis to be used in the treatment of moderate-to-severe chronic pain in adults and children has been labelled 'weak', owing to a close balance of harms and benefits.…

Published: 9 September 2021

Feature

Investigation: should liquid morphine be reclassified?

Several concerns have been raised about the risk of overdose and death from oral morphine sulphate solution over the past few years, but they have gone unheard.…

Published: 2 September 2021

Opinion

How I reduced opioid prescribing in my GP practice by more than 450,000mme in less than a year

Deborah Hollywood set about creating a toolkit to reduce opioid doses for patients at her practice, with which she has achieved great success.…

Published: 14 July 2021

News

OTC painkillers may be associated with increased foetal health risks, study suggests

Babies exposed to over-the-counter analgesics were found to be 1.5 times more likely to experience health issues, although an expert has warned it is "impossible" to confirm whether these were directly caused by the medicines.…

Published: 1 July 2021

News

Sex differences in chronic pain linked to genetics

Looking at genetic variants associated with chronic pain in nearly 400,000 men and women, researchers said their findings suggest the existence of potential sex differences in chronic pain at multiple levels.…

Published: 18 June 2021

Feature

What is ‘chronic primary pain’ and why is NICE guidance on it causing controversy?

New guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has defined pain with no identifiable underlying cause as ‘chronic primary pain‘, but there are concerns the guideline could adversely affect patient care.…

Published: 21 April 2021

News

Antidepressants and non-drug therapy should be considered for treatment of chronic primary pain, says NICE

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline says antidepressants may help with quality of life, pain, sleep and psychological distress, even in the absence of depression.…

Published: 7 April 2021

News

Naltrexone reduces pain intensity and improves life for those with chronic pain, review suggests

Researchers are now calling for more large-scale studies to investigate low-dose naltrexone as a treatment for chronic pain.…

Published: 15 March 2021