Correction to: Dexketoprofen/tramadol 25 mg/75 mg: randomised double-blind trial in moderate-to-severe acute pain after abdominal hysterectomy.

Following publication of the original article [1], the authors reported that additional file 10 contained a typing error in the table "Percentage of responders (≥50% max TOTPAR) over two, four, six and eight hours (single-dose phase) (ITT Population)". The table is to be read as follows.

European Pain Federation position paper on appropriate opioid use in chronic pain management.

Unlabelled: Poorly controlled pain is a global public health issue. The personal, familial and societal costs are immeasurable. Only a minority of European patients have access to a comprehensive specialist pain clinic.

Dexketoprofen/tramadol 25 mg/75 mg: randomised double-blind trial in moderate-to-severe acute pain after abdominal hysterectomy.

Background: Dexketoprofen trometamol plus tramadol hydrochloride is a new oral combination of two analgesics, which have different mechanisms of action for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain.

Methods: Randomised, double-blind, parallel, placebo and active-controlled, single and multiple-dose study to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of dexketoprofen/tramadol 25 mg/75 mg in comparison with the single agents (dexketoprofen 25 mg and tramadol 100 mg) in moderate to severe acute pain after abdominal hysterectomy. Patients received seven consecutive doses of study drug within a 3-day period, each dose separated by an 8-hour interval.

Randomized clinical trial of dexketoprofen/tramadol 25 mg/75 mg in moderate-to-severe pain after total hip arthroplasty.

Background: The aim was to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and safety of the dexketoprofen/tramadol 25 mg/75 mg fixed-dose combination vs dexketoprofen (25 mg) and tramadol (100 mg) in moderate-to-severe acute pain after total hip arthroplasty.

Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study in patients experiencing pain of at least moderate intensity on the day after surgery, compared with placebo at first administration to validate the pain model. The study drug was administered orally every 8 h throughout a 5 day period.

WITHDRAWN: Single dose dipyrone for acute postoperative pain.

Background: Dipyrone (metamizole) is a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drug used in some countries to treat pain (postoperative, colic, cancer, and migraine); it is banned in others because of an association with life‐threatening blood agranulocytosis. This review updates a 2001 Cochrane review, and no relevant new studies were identified, but additional outcomes were sought.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and adverse events of single dose dipyrone in acute postoperative pain.

WITHDRAWN: Radiotherapy for the palliation of painful bone metastases.

This review is out of date and has been withdrawn. The content of the review may be of historical interest to readers. The editorial group responsible for this previously published document have withdrawn it from publication.

An observational descriptive study of the epidemiology and treatment of neuropathic pain in a UK general population.

Background: This study updated our knowledge of UK primary care neuropathic pain incidence rates and prescribing practices.

Methods: Patients with a first diagnosis of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) or phantom limb pain (PLP) were identified from the General Practice Research Database (2006 - 2010) and incidence rates were calculated. Prescription records were searched for pain treatments from diagnosis of these conditions and the duration and daily dose estimated for first-line and subsequent treatment regimens.

A conservative method of testing whether combination analgesics produce additive or synergistic effects using evidence from acute pain and migraine.

Fixed-dose combination analgesics are used widely, and available both on prescription and over-the-counter. Combination drugs should provide more analgesia than with any single drug in the combination, but there is no evidence in humans about whether oral combinations have just additive effects, or are synergistic or even subadditive. We suggest that the measured result for the combination would be the summation of the absolute benefit increase (effect of active drug minus effect of placebo) of each component of a combination if effects were (merely) additive, and greater than the sum of the absolute benefits if they were synergistic.

Expert conference on cancer pain assessment and classification--the need for international consensus: working proposals on international standards.

An increasing number of cancer patients live longer, and palliative care has become an important part of their treatment. Symptoms are often inadequately assessed and managed. A significant challenge in clinical trials is to control for the variability of the samples being studied.

Single dose oral analgesics for acute postoperative pain in adults.

Background: Thirty-five Cochrane Reviews of randomised trials testing the analgesic efficacy of individual drug interventions in acute postoperative pain have been published. This overview brings together the results of all those reviews and assesses the reliability of available data.

Objectives: To summarise data from all Cochrane Reviews that have assessed the effects of pharmaceutical interventions for acute pain in adults with at least moderate pain following surgery, who have been given a single dose of oral analgesic taken alone.

Evidence-based medicine: what is the evidence that it has made a difference?

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has, over the past 20 years, made us all more critical in our thinking about the efficacy and safety of interventions. This is evident in the higher standards of our spoken and written work, formal and informal, and in our approach to the subject. The downside has been the coincidence of the squeeze on healthcare funding with the emergence of the EBM ideas - it has been all too easy to misuse the tools of EBM to deny patients access to treatment, and this, together with the off-putting political correctness of the EBM approach in some quarters, has made clinicians uneasy.

Interference with work in fibromyalgia: effect of treatment with pregabalin and relation to pain response.

Background: Clinical trials in chronic pain often collect information about interference with work as answers to component questions of commonly used questionnaires but these data are not normally analysed separately.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of individual patient data from four large trials of pregabalin for fibromyalgia lasting 8-14 weeks. We analysed data on interference with work, inferred from answers to component questions of Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), Short Form 36 Health Survey, Sheehan Disability Scale, and Multidimensional Assessment of Fatigue, including "How many days in the past week did you miss work, including housework, because of fibromyalgia?" from FIQ.

Mean analgesic consumption is inappropriate for testing analgesic efficacy in post-operative pain: analysis and alternative suggestion.

Background And Objective: Post-operative analgesic consumption is often used as a surrogate measure for pain; analyses of mean data assume a Gaussian distribution and use parametric statistics to assess statistical differences, often in small samples. We used a large individual patient dataset to examine the distribution of analgesic consumption, the validity of such analyses and alternative dichotomous outcomes.

Methods: Analysis of individual patient data from 913 patients over 48 post-operative hours in five randomised trials.

Minimum efficacy criteria for comparisons between treatments using individual patient meta-analysis of acute pain trials: examples of etoricoxib, paracetamol, ibuprofen, and ibuprofen/paracetamol combinations after third molar extraction.

We defined response in acute pain trials according to percentage of maximum possible efficacy. Minimum efficacy criteria (MEC) of 0%, or at least 15%, 30%, 50%, and 70% pain relief were used to examine stability over time using total pain relief and summed pain intensity difference (SPID), sex differences, and sensitivity. We used individual patient data from placebo-controlled third molar extraction trials: 4 with single-dose oral etoricoxib 120 mg, and 2 with paracetamol, ibuprofen, and ibuprofen plus paracetamol combinations.

Gabapentin for chronic neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia in adults.

Background: This review updates parts of two earlier Cochrane reviews investigating effects of gabapentin in chronic neuropathic pain (pain due to nerve damage). Antiepileptic drugs are used to manage pain, predominantly for chronic neuropathic pain, especially when the pain is lancinating or burning.

Objectives: To evaluate the analgesic effectiveness and adverse effects of gabapentin for chronic neuropathic pain management.

Single dose oral mefenamic acid for acute postoperative pain in adults.

Background: Mefenamic acid is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It is most often used for treating pain of dysmenorrhoea in the short term (seven days or less), as well as mild to moderate pain including headache, dental pain, postoperative and postpartum pain. It is widely available in many countries worldwide.

WITHDRAWN: Gabapentin for acute and chronic pain.

Background: February 2009: The authors are aware of unpublished trial data for Gabapentin which could affect the results of this review. This information together with that from trials published since 2005, will be considered when this review is updated in 2009.Anticonvulsant drugs have been used in the management of pain since the 1960s.

Carbamazepine for acute and chronic pain in adults.

Background: Carbamazepine is used to treat chronic neuropathic pain.

Objectives: Evaluation of analgesic efficacy and adverse effects of carbamazepine for acute and chronic pain management (except headaches).

Search Strategy: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of carbamazepine in acute, chronic or cancer pain were identified, searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, SIGLE and Cochrane CENTRAL to June 2010, reference lists of retrieved papers, and reviews.

End-to-end military pain management.

The last three years have seen significant changes in the Defence Medical Services approach to trauma pain management. This article seeks to outline these changes that have occurred at every level of the casualty's journey along the chain of evacuation, from the point of injury to rehabilitation and either continued employment in the Services or to medical discharge. Particular attention is paid to the evidence for the interventions used for both acute pain and chronic pain management.

Paracetamol (acetaminophen) with or without an antiemetic for acute migraine headaches in adults.

Background: Migraine is a common, disabling condition and a burden for the individual, health services and society. Many sufferers choose not to, or are unable to, seek professional help and rely on over-the-counter analgesics. Co-therapy with an antiemetic should help to reduce nausea and vomiting commonly associated with migraine.

Ibuprofen with or without an antiemetic for acute migraine headaches in adults.

Background: Migraine is a common, disabling condition and a burden for the individual, health services and society. Many sufferers do not seek professional help, relying instead on over-the-counter analgesics. Co-therapy with an antiemetic should help to reduce symptoms commonly associated with migraine headaches.