Evaluating pain management practices for cancer patients among health professionals in cancer and supportive/palliative care units: a Belgian survey.

Background: Pain is reported in 66% of cancer patients with advanced disease. Adequate pain management is a cornerstone of comprehensive supportive cancer care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess pain management in Oncology Units in Belgium.

Acute Coronary Syndrome Presenting during On- and Off-Hours: Is There a Difference in a Tertiary Cardiovascular Center?

: ACS presents an acute manifestation of coronary artery disease and its treatment is based on timely interventional diagnostics and PCI. It has been known that the treatment and the outcomes are not the same for all the patients with ACS during the working day, depending on the availability of the procedures and staff. The aim of the study was to explore the differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes in patients admitted for ACS during on- and off-hours.

Facial Pain: A Comprehensive Review and Proposal for a Pragmatic Diagnostic Approach.

Background: Facial pain, alone or combined with other symptoms, is a frequent complaint. Moreover, it is a symptom situated at, more than any other pain condition, a crosspoint where several disciplines meet, for example, dentists; manual therapists; ophthalmologists; psychologists; and ear-nose-throat, pain, and internal medicine physicians besides neurologists and neurosurgeons. Recently, a new version of the most widely used classification system among neurologists for headache and facial pain, the International Classification of Headache Disorders, has been published.

A new minimally invasive technique for lead revision of perc-paddle leads.

To report on a less-invasive technique for replacing a broken lead in a spinal cord stimulation (SCS) device that makes use of St. Jude Medical's "Epiducer" device. A 53-year-old woman suffered a loss of stimulation on her internal pulse generator (IPG), which was found to have a broken lead.

Treatment of central sensitization in patients with 'unexplained' chronic pain: what options do we have?

Introduction: Central sensitization accounts for chronic 'unexplained' pain in a wide variety of disorders, including chronic whiplash-associated disorders, temporomandibular disorders, chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic tension-type headache among others. Given the increasing evidence supporting the clinical significance of central sensitization in those with unexplained chronic pain, the awareness is growing that central sensitization should be a treatment target in these patients.

Areas Covered: This article provides an overview of the treatment options available for desensitizing the CNS in patients with chronic pain due to central sensitization.