| Abstract: |
Skilled and compassionate pain assessment and management is a central component of the palliative care approach. While we are in need of new drugs with more manageable side effect profiles, and more research to help guide us as to what other "alternative" approaches may be helpful to our patients, the most pressing need of our patients is a partnership with their clinician and the assurance that they are being cared for by skilled clinicians. This chapter provides a set of important skills including (1) adequate pain assessment; (2) a basic understanding of various pain mechanisms; (3) targeted pain management including management of neuropathic pain; (4) opioid principles and management of opioid side effects; and (5) a discussion of the public health challenges of prescription drug abuse and the under-treatment of pain. Pain is often overlooked in neurologic conditions, but appropriate evaluation of pain combined with judicious selection of analgesic interventions can improve pain dramatically in our patients. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2019. All rights reserved. |
