Opioid crisis: Placing blame or fixing the problem.

There is prevalent news media coverage about the opioid crisis in the United States. Overdose deaths are on the rise, but who's fault is it really? Perspective into the crisis is key if we as health care providers ever hope to change the current situation. Although overdose deaths are on the rise, opioid prescribing rates are decreasing.

Postherpetic neuralgia: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and pain management pharmacology.

Herpes zoster, also known as shingles, is a distinctive clinical condition caused by the reactivation of latent varicella zoster (chickenpox) virus following an initial infection. Approximately 1 million cases of herpes zoster occur annually in the US, and one in every three people develops herpes zoster during their lifetime. Postherpetic neuralgia is a neuropathic pain syndrome characterized by pain that persists for months to years after resolution of the herpes zoster rash.

Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum and right ventricular dependent coronary circulation through the "vessels of Wearn".

We present an autopsy case of a male baby born at 35 weeks of gestation with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PAIVS), who had coronary blood flow that was dependent on outflow from the right ventricle through the vessels described by Wearn. At 7 weeks of age, he underwent single ventricle palliation consisting of ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus and placement of a modified Blalock-Taussig shunt. The patient experienced a perioperative myocardial infarction, requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.