A new map of a brain circuit specific to chronic pain suggests a promising route to treatment for the roughly 60 million Americans living with persistent pain, according to a study published in Nature. The study showed that silencing the specific cells that drive this circuit eased chronic pain while preserving acute pain responses-in other words, the body’s … Read more
TOPLINE: Administration of dexmedetomidine in patients undergoing cardiac surgery reduced the incidence of postoperative delirium by 38% but was associated with an increased risk for hypotension. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 18 randomized controlled trials involving 3904 patients undergoing any type of cardiac surgery. They compared the use of dexmedetomidine with … Read more
An opioid prescribing practice standard for chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) was associated with accelerated declines in opioid doses and high-dose prescribing in British Columbia (BC) but also with more aggressive and inappropriate dose tapering, a new analysis showed. In addition, the standard resulted in restricted access to opioids for patients who may have benefited from … Read more
TOPLINE: The combination of remimazolam and ketamine for deep analgosedation during pulsed-field ablation for atrial fibrillation was associated with fewer adverse events than propofol-based methods, with the regimen significantly reducing hypoxemia and hypotension. METHODOLOGY: Czech researchers conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial involving 127 patients (mean age, 62.9 years; 35.1% women) with an indication for … Read more
The popularity of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists has led to a concomitant increase in the need to understand the potential perioperative ramifications of taking these drugs, from increased aspiration risk to prosthetic joint infections. At the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2025 Annual Meeting, researchers presented an array of studies looking at the … Read more
The American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) has issued its first clinical practice guideline on the diagnosis and management of gastric premalignant conditions (GPMCs) including atrophic gastritis, gastric intestinal metaplasia, dysplasia, and certain gastric epithelial polyps, all of which have an increased risk of progressing to gastric cancer. The guideline was published online on March 12 … Read more
Key Takeaways Herpes zoster (HZ) can initially present with pain before the appearance of a rash, leading to diagnostic confusion. Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) may be mimicked by other conditions, including HZ. Positive pinch test and Carnett’s sign may indicate abdominal wall neuralgia but do not exclude the possibility of HZ. The Patient … Read more
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), mid- to high-potency opioids, and ketamine were effective in treating pediatric acute pain, with NSAIDs providing the most benefits and least harm. While researchers suggested NSAIDs as the first line treatment for children with acute pain, they also noted instances of notably effective treatments showing only modest pain relief, according to … Read more
New guidelines from the American Society of Regional and Anesthesia (ASRA) Pain Medicine offer strategies for anesthesiologists and pain physicians to prevent infections that develop after surgery and other pain procedures. Surgical site infections (SSIs) — which by some estimates occur 500,000 times annually in the United States— increase hospital costs by more than $20,000 … Read more
TOPLINE: Compared with sevoflurane, a combination of remimazolam and flumazenil significantly reduces extubation time and use of ephedrine, while maintaining similar hemodynamic stability, in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). METHODOLOGY: Researchers in Japan conducted a prospective, open-label, single-center clinical trial between June 2022 and August 2023 to compare emergence times with sevoflurane or … Read more