The e-Briefing newsletter from Pain Treatment Topics provides busy healthcare professionals with a digest of selected news, information, research, and education relating to pain management. The focus is on evidence-based pain management practices. This newsletter is provided free of charge and without restriction – no site registration is required.

e-Briefings are available in electronic PDF format for downloading and reading at your leisure or sharing with colleagues. Active URL links in the PDF document allow for easily accessing further reference and resource materials at Pain-Topics.org or via the Internet.

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Current Issue

Pain-Topics e-Briefing – 2009: Vol. 4, No. 1

Download PDF: e-Briefing-Vol4-No1-2009.pdf (472 KB; 12 pp)

• EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK…
  Misguided Pain Guidelines?
  When Strong Claims Follow From Weak Evidence
  > Opioid Rx Guidelines in Search of Evidence
  > ECG Screening in Methadone Patients
  > Fibromyalgia Guidelines Inconsistent
• PAIN INNOVATIONS: EVIDENCE REVIEW...
  Opioid Blockers Aid Pain Relief

• Pain-Topics.org NEWS...
  Website-Rating Survey Results

Past Issues

Pain-Topics e-Briefing – 2008: Vol. 3, No. 1

Download PDF: e-Briefing-Vol3-No1-2008.pdf (820 KB; 19 pp)

• EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK…
  Can Pain Medicine Research Be Trusted?
• UPDATE ON NEWS/RESEARCH UPDATES...
  Opioid-Analgesic Abuse & Addiction
  Prevalence Uncertain

• PAIN-TOPICS RESEARCH ROUNDUP...
  Special Reports
  > Aches? Pains? Extra Vitamin D May Help
  > Safety Stressed in Updated Guidance on Methadone
  Current Comments
  > Do Opioid Analgesics Sometimes Make Pain Worse?
  > Discharging Patients for Opioid-Analgesic Abuse/Addiction?
  > Telltale Signs Identify Patients with Uncontrolled Pain
  > Sexual Dysfunction – Common with Opioid Analgesics

• RECENT CHANGES at Pain-Topics.org…
  Dual Certifications Received
  Awards Recognize Contributions to Healthcare Field

Pain-Topics e-Briefing – 2007: Vol. 2, No. 2

 Download PDF: e-Briefing-Vol2-No2-2007.pdf (720 KB; 18 pp)

• FROM EDITOR...
  Opioid Contracts: Good, Bad, or Useless?
• LANGUAGE MATTERS...
  “Efficacious” Treatments Are Not Always “Effective”
• FEATURE ARTICLE...
  Commonsense Opioid-Risk Management
• CURRENT COMMENTS...
  Confronting the Perils of Pain Treatment
  > Ziegler – Conundrums in Primary Care
  > Webster – Maximizing Methadone Safety
  > Tennant – Intractable Pain & Pseudoaddiction: Howard Hughes
• Recent Changes at Pain-Topics.org

Pain-Topics e-Briefing – 2007: Vol. 2, No. 1

 Download PDF: e-Briefing-Vol2-No1-2007.pdf (850 KB; 17 pp)

• From Editor... Iatrogenic Opioid-Use Problems: What's the Risk?
• Language Matters: Time to Nix "Narcotics"
  & Get Specific About Opioids
• Feature Article: Safety Update - OXYCODONE
• Renal, Hepatic Dysfunction Requires Rx-Opioid Adjustments
• Current Comments: "Opiophobia" Unwarranted, Potentially Harmful
• First-Ever Guide for Helping Patients with Intractable Pain
• New Book Addresses Opioid Risks & Their Safe Management

Pain-Topics e-Briefing – 2006: Vol. 1, No. 2

 Download PDF: e-Briefing_Vol1_No2_2006.pdf  (768 KB; 14 pp)

• From Editor... News Reports, FDA Advisory Should Not Deter Use of Methadone
• Language Matters: Discard "Dependence"; Get Serious About "Addiction"
• Methadone Safety Stressed by FDA; Report from Pain Treatment Topics Provides Clinical Guidance
• Conversion Ratios for Rotation from Methadone to Other Opioids
• Pain & Addiction: Common Threads ...Seminar Notes
• Pain-Topics.org Launches Pain-Art Gallery
• Events Calendar

Pain-Topics e-Briefing – 2006: Vol. 1, No. 1

 Download PDF: e-Briefing_Spring_2006.pdf  (530 KB; 11 pp)

• From Editor... A New Concept for Learning About Pain & Its Treatment via the Internet
• How Much Methadone Analgesia is Enough?
  Or...Too Much?
• Methadone-Drug Interactions Affect Patient Response & Safety
• Tapering Opioids: Patient Safety & Comfort Are Essential
• Pain: A Confounding Factor in Opioid-Addiction Treatment
• Events Calendar