Practical Advices for Treating Chronic Pain in the Time of COVID-19: A Narrative Review Focusing on Interventional Techniques.
Giuliano Lo BiancoAlfonso PapaMichael E SchatmanAndrea TinnirelloGaetano TerranovaMatteo Luigi Giuseppe LeoniHannah ShapiroSebastiano MercadantePublished in: Journal of clinical medicine (2021)
Careful triage of patients is mandatory in order to avoid overcrowding of hospital spaces. Telemedicine could represent a promising tool to replace in-person visits and as a screening tool prior to admitting patients to hospitals. Opioid medications can affect the immune response, and therefore, care should be taken prior to initiating new treatments and increasing dosages. Epidural steroids should be avoided or limited to the lowest effective dose. Non urgent interventional procedures such as spinal cord stimulation and intrathecal pumps should be postponed. The use of personal protective equipment and disinfectants represent an important component of the strategy to prevent viral spread to operators and cross-infection between patients due to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks.
Keyphrases
- sars cov
- end stage renal disease
- chronic pain
- spinal cord
- ejection fraction
- chronic kidney disease
- immune response
- newly diagnosed
- peritoneal dialysis
- emergency department
- prognostic factors
- coronavirus disease
- toll like receptor
- spinal cord injury
- neuropathic pain
- quality improvement
- respiratory syndrome coronavirus
- electronic health record