Topical analgesic agents

Novel Agents in Neuropathic Pain, the Role of Capsaicin: Pharmacology, Efficacy, Side Effects, Different Preparations

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Capsaicin is a natural substance used to treat neuropathic pain because of its ability to be used in a more direct form on patients and efficiently treat their pain without the amount of side effects seen in the use of oral medications.

RECENT FINDINGS

Currently, the treatments for neuropathic pain are, control of the underlying disease process, then focused on symptomatic relief with pharmacotherapy, topical analgesics, or other interventions. When all pharmacological agents fail to relieve the pain, interventional strategies can be considered, such as neural blocks, spinal cord stimulation, and intrathecal administered medications. The response to current treatment of neuropathic pain is only modest relief of symptoms. Multiple treatment options may be attempted, while ultimately leaving patients with refractory neuropathic pain. For these reasons, a better treatment approach to neuropathic pain is greatly needed. Overall, capsaicin has great potential for becoming a first- or second-line treatment for neuropathic pain, and for becoming a therapeutic option for many other neuropathic pain-related disease states.

The use of algorithms in assessing and managing persistent pain in older adults

OVERVIEW

As the U.S. population ages, nurses will care for increasing numbers of older adults, most of whom suffer from at least one chronic illness. The persistent pain associated with many chronic illnesses can have detrimental effects on patients' functioning and quality of life. Algorithms developed from evidence-based clinical practice guidelines are tools that can facilitate the application of research to practice. This article introduces readers to the use of algorithms in guiding the assessment and management of persistent pain in older adults, and provides an illustrative case study.

Pharmacological pain management in the elderly patient

With the increasing number of elderly patients the issue of pain management for older people is of increasing relevance. The alterations with aging of the neurobiology of pain have impacts of pain threshold, tolerance and treatment. In this review the available evidence from animal and human experimentation is discussed to highlight the differences between young and older subjects along with consideration of how these changes have practical effect on drug treatment of pain. Cognitive impairment, physical disability and social isolation can also impact on the accessibility of treatment and have to be considered along with the biological changes with ageing. Conventional pain therapies, while verified in younger adults cannot be automatically applied to the elderly without consideration of all these factors and in no other group of patients is a holistic approach to treatment more important.