(Reuters Health)—A daily supplement of pharmaceutical grade chondroitin is as good as celecoxib (Celebrex) at relieving arthritic knee pain and doesn’t have dangerous side effects, researchers say. Dr. Jean-Yves Reginster of Liege State University in Belgium and colleagues recruited 604 people over age 50 with knee osteoarthritis (OA) from five European countries and randomly assigned…
Pregabalin Is Ineffective for Sciatica
A recent small-scale study examined the efficacy of pregabalin in the treatment of neuropathic pain caused by sciatica, as well as its associated low back pain. Researchers found the treatment did not reduce leg pain better than placebo and resulted in more adverse events…
NKTR-181 Promising for Chronic Low Back Pain
NKTR-181, a mu-opioid agonist analgesic, has proved safe and effective for treating chronic low back pain vs. placebo in a recent clinical trial…
Straightforward Approach Can Help Rheumatology Health Professionals Engage with Fibromyalgia Patients
“I have pain all over my body” is a challenging response after you’ve asked a new patient what brings them in for their visit. You immediately suspect that this patient has fibromyalgia. The prevalence of fibromyalgia in the U.S. is 5 million people, and it is among the most common conditions in many rheumatology practices….
Spinal Manipulation Might Help Ease Acute Low Back Pain
(Reuters Health)—Spinal manipulation may work as well for easing lower back pain as anti-inflammatory medications, a research review concludes. Based on data from 15 previously conducted trials involving a total of 1,711 adults, the study team found that spinal manipulation achieved meaningful reductions in pain and improvements in function after six weeks of treatment. The…
Rheumatology March Coding Corner Answer: Pediatric Rheumatology Consult
Take the challenge. CPT: 99203 This encounter is coded as 99203, because it included: History—The history of present illness was extended. The review of systems was complete, and the past medical, family and social were documented. This makes the history comprehensive. Examination—Expanded detailed. Medical decision making—The diagnosis was a new problem with no additional workup…
Rheumatology March Coding Corner Question: Pediatric Rheumatology Consult
A 13-year-old black male, described by his mother as a very active and energetic child, is referred to a pediatric rheumatologist. His chief complaint is muscle pain in both legs, which he has experienced for the past three weeks. His mother is a patient of an adult rheumatologist at this clinic and is quite concerned….
Pain Management Research Sheds Light on Postsurgical Pain Sensitization, Opioid Risks, Nondrug Interventions
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Successful management of pain remains a challenge for rheumatologists. Five research abstracts presented at the 2016 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in a session titled Pain—Basic and Clinical Aspects offered new insights on pain sensitization, and the risks and effects of various pain therapies. Knee Pain After Surgery Can we predict which patients will have longer-term…
fMRI Can Help Diagnose Fibromyalgia
Brain imaging can distinguish fibromyalgia patients from healthy controls with high sensitivity and specificity, according to two papers published nearly simultaneously in Pain late last summer, by groups at the Universities of Colorado and Michigan, respectively. Somewhat surprisingly to the authors and others, in the Colorado study, which used both painful and nonpainful stimuli, the…
On the Road in Rajasthan: Vehicular-Caused Bone, Joint Damage in India
In the good old days, physicians routinely made house calls. The decision to visit the literal bedside of a patient was practical: hospital services were primitive and often offered too little benefit to justify an emergency journey by the patient. These physicians carried leather bags, sometimes called Gladstones, that were filled with instruments for eventualities…
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