Pain is highly prevalent in frail older people who often have multiple co‐morbidities and multiple medicines. Rational prescribing of analgesics in frail older people is complex due to heterogeneity in drug disposition, comorbid medical conditions, polypharmacy and variability in analgesic response in this population. A critical issue in managing older people with pain is the need for judicious choice of analgesics based on a comprehensive medical and medication history. Care is needed in the selection of analgesic medicine to avoid drug–drug or drug–disease interactions. People living with dementia and cognitive impairment have suboptimal pain relief which in part may be related to altered pharmacodynamics of analgesics and challenges in the systematic assessment of pain intensity in this patient group. In the absence of rigorously controlled trials in frail older people and those with cognitive impairment a pharmacologically‐guided approach can be used to optimize pain management which requires a systematic understanding of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of analgesics in frail older people with or without changes in cognition.
Background Imaging for low back pain is widely regarded as a target for efforts to reduce low value care. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of overuse and underuse of lumbar imaging in the Emergency Department. Methods Retrospective chart review study of five public hospital Emergency Departments in Sydney, Australia, in 2019/20. We reviewed the clinical charts of consecutive adult patients who presented with a complaint of low back pain and extracted clinical features relevant to a decision to request lumbar imaging. We estimated the proportion of encounters where a decision to request lumbar imaging was inappropriate (overuse) or where a clinician did not request an appropriate and informative lumbar imaging test when indicated (underuse). Results 649 patients presented with a complaint of low back pain of which 158 (24.3%) were referred for imaging. 79 (12.2%) had a combination of features suggesting lumbar imaging was indicated according to clinical guidelines. The prevalence of overuse and underuse of lumbar imaging was 8.8% (57 of 649 cases, 95%CI 6.8% to 11.2%) and 4.3% (28 of 649 cases, 95%CI 3.0% to 6.1%), respectively. 13 cases were classified as underuse because the patient was referred for an uninformative imaging modality (e.g. referred for radiography for suspected cauda equina syndrome). Conclusion In this study of emergency care there was evidence of overuse of lumbar imaging, but also underuse through failure to request lumbar imaging when indicated or referral for an uninformative imaging modality. These three issues seem more important targets for quality improvement than solely focusing on overuse.
Primary pouchitis is a common complication of ileal pouch-anal anastomosis following proctocolectomy in patients treated for ulcerative colitis (UC), but is un-usual for those treated for familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). While a number of theories as to the pathogenesis of this inflammatory condition have been proposed, no single one has been wholly satis-factory. Much research has been devoted to investi-gating a link between the pathogenic factors involved in UC, but not FAP, and those underlying pouchitis. The contribution of sulfate-producing bacteria has also been explored. The role of other intraluminal factors, such as short chain fatty acids and unconju-gated bile salts, has also been investigated. A unifying theory of a multi-step process might explain the pathogenesis of pouchitis, but further research is re-quired to proof causation. It is likely that pouchitis develops as a result of a combination of genetic, im-munological, microbial and metabolic factors. Future insight into the causes of pouchitis may eventually allow for the development of more effective treat-ments
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