Physician-to-physician telephone consultations for chronic pain patients: A pragmatic randomized trial.

Background: The impact of telephone consultations between pain specialists and primary care physicians regarding the care of patients with chronic pain is unknown.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of telephone consultations between pain specialists and primary care physicians regarding the care of patients with chronic pain.

Methods: Patients referred to an interdisciplinary chronic pain service were randomly assigned to either receive usual care by the primary care physician, or to have their case discussed in a telephone consultation between a pain specialist and the referring primary care physician.

Temperature dependent solid-state proton migration in dimethylurea-oxalic acid complexes.

The phenomenon of solid-state proton migration within molecular complexes containing short hydrogen bonds is investigated in two dimethylurea-oxalic acid complexes. Extensive characterisation by both X-ray and neutron diffraction shows that proton migration along the hydrogen bond can be induced in these complexes as a function of temperature. This emphasises the subtle features of the hydrogen bond potential well in such short hydrogen bonded complexes, both intrinsically and in the effect of the local crystalline environment.

Provider, patient and public benefits from a NICE appraisal of bevacizumab (Avastin).

There are several good reasons for the UK Department of Health to recommend the appraisal of bevacizumab for the treatment of eye conditions by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. These reasons will extend to other drugs when similar situations arise in the future.

The crystal structures of the low-temperature and high-pressure polymorphs of nitric acid.

A new high-pressure phase of pure nitric acid (HNO(3)) has been characterised at 1.6 GPa at room temperature by high-pressure neutron powder and X-ray single-crystal diffraction techniques. This is the first crystalline phase obtained upon compression of liquid nitric acid at room temperature and appears to be the stable phase up to pressures of at least 4 GPa.