An Evidence-based Resource for Pain Relief

Evidence-based medicine requires integration of individual clinical expertise with the best external clinical evidence from research, involving randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and double-blind techniques. This book brings together the reviews of these trials, examining the evidence for particular drug interventions commonly used in pain relief.

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Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is the conscientious, explicit, and sensible use of the current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of EBM requires the integration of individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. The techniques of evidence-based medicine now allow us to compare how well different pain relief interventions work for the same condition. An Evidence-based Resource for Pain Relief is the first book of its kind to bring together the reviews of these trials, examining the evidence for the effectiveness of many of the interventions commonly used in pain relief. The book begins with a section on EBM methodology, including information on how to assess the evidence, how to find the papers, criteria by which to judge them, what data to extract, and how to then handle that data. The book is then divided into two main sections - acute pain and chronic pain, with each section presenting extensive reviews of many common treatments for managing pain, particularly drugs.
The book will be valuable for the multi-disciplinary professionals managing acute and chronic pain in primary and secondary care, and for those commissioning that care. The lessons learned about design and conduct of clinical trials will help also those researching new and better treatments. The approach may be applicable to other fields which use subjective outcomes.