STATEMENT OF NEED
Chronic pain is a common, pervasive complaint, affecting approximately one third of the US population and more than one fifth of the population worldwide. Its burdens are experienced on economic, societal, and personal levels. In addition to the direct costs, such as those for physician visits and medications, there are indirect costs, including those of lost productive time. It was estimated in a study of almost 29,000 US workers that approximately 13% of the workforce loses productivity because of pain, and this loss translates to a cost of more than $61 billion annually. On the individual level, as illustrated by a large study conducted by the World Health Organization, patients’ quality of life and functioning, as well as their perceptions of their own health, can be impaired severely by chronic pain.
Recent studies suggest that balanced, multimodal analgesia is the most rational approach to chronic pain and is most likely to help patients with chronic pain find relief.
These factors and others have created an increased need for education regarding safe, effective treatment of chronic pain. Hence, a program that addresses chronic, persistent pain states and that provides clinical data regarding new and evolving treatment strategies will provide valuable information to clinicians.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the conclusion of these activities, participants should be able to:
Recognize chronic, persistent pain states, specifically chronic daily headache/migraine and back pain
Review current treatment modalities for these pain categories, thresholds for treatment, and define safe, efficacious therapies
Explain the principle of balanced analgesia and its applications
Discuss evolving therapies, especially adjuvant analgesics, for the balanced treatment of chronic pain states
TARGET AUDIENCE
This activity has been developed for clinicians who specialize in pain management, including anesthesiologists, neurologists, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, and primary care physicians.
PHYSICIAN ACCREDITATION
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation and SynerMed
® Communications. The Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
DESIGNATION OF CREDIT
The Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1
AMA PRA Category 1
Credit(s)™
. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
EDUCATIONAL METHOD
This archived teleconference features 50 minutes of recorded audio presentations and accompanying slides that should take approximately 1 hour to complete. The participant should, in order, review the CME information, view the presentations, and complete the post-test/evaluation form provided at the link located on the last slide of the presentations. The evaluation form provides each participant with the opportunity to comment on the extent to which the educational objectives were met, the quality of the instructional process, the perception of enhanced professional effectiveness, the perception of commercial bias, and participant views on future educational needs. Credit is valid through May 31, 2008. No credit will be given after that date.
OFF-LABEL/UNAPPROVED USE DISCLOSURE
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings. Further, attendees/participants should appraise the information presented critically and are encouraged to consult appropriate resources for any product or device mentioned in this program.
DISCLAIMER
The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation, Acorda Therapeutics, or SynerMed Communications. This material is prepared based upon a review of multiple sources of information, but it is not exhaustive of the subject matter. Therefore, healthcare professionals and other individuals should review and consider other publications and materials on the subject matter before relying solely upon information contained within this educational activity.
FACULTY AND DISCUSSION TOPICS
Chronic Headache Pain:
Managing Migraine and Chronic Daily Headache
JOHN CLAUDE KRUSZ, PHD, MD
Medical Director
Anodyne Headache and PainCare
Dallas, Texas
Acute and Chronic Pain:
Balanced Pharmacotherapy for Refractory Patients
MICHAEL F. SAULINO, MD, PHD
Assistant Professor
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine
Jefferson Medical College
Physiatrist
Moss Rehab
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
DISCLOSURE
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation requires that any person who is in a position to control the content of a CME activity must disclose all relevant financial relationships they have with a commercial interest.
Accordingly, Dr. Krusz is a speaker for GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Inc, Sepracor Pharmaceuticals, Abbott Laboratories, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Cephalon, Inc, and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc. He is a consultant/advisor for GlaxoSmithKline and Allergan. He has been an investigator and has received grant support from GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Inc, and Eisai. He and his spouse/partner hold stock at AstraZeneca, Forest Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, ICOS, Pfizer Inc, Pozen, Inc, and Sepracor Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Saulino is a speaker for Medtronic, Elan Pharmaceuticals, and Acorda Therapeutics. He is a consultant and serves as an investigator for Elan Pharmaceuticals.
The Dannemiller staff and SynerMed staff that were involved in the development of this activity have no financial relationships with any commercial interest that are relevant to this activity.
The writer, Stephanie Stendardo, involved in the development of the content of this activity has no financial relationships with any commercial interest that is relevant to this activity.
To resolve identified conflicts of interest, the educational content was fully peer reviewed by a physician member of the Dannemiller Clinical Content Review committee who has nothing to disclose. The resulting certified activity was found to provide educational content that is current, evidence-based, and commercially balanced.