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Background: Oxycodone‐naloxone (OXN) aims to reduce opioid‐related constipation while being successfully analgesic. Methods: We evaluated the analgesic response, prevalence, and severity of side effects in 176 patients with cancer who had moderate to severe pain and were being treated with OXN. Patients were followed for 28 days and evaluated every 7 days. Pain intensity, changes of therapy, and adverse drug reactions were recorded at each visit. The primary efficacy endpoint was the proportion of responders (≥30% reduction of pain intensity from baseline to final) and final average pain score ≤ 4 on a scale of 0 to 10. Results: Average and worst pain intensity and breakthrough pain (BTP) prevalence decreased over time, and 81.3% of patients were responders. The starting daily dose of OXN was raised from 25.1 ± 13.0 mg to 44.1 ± 29.9 mg, and dose escalation > 5%/day was observed in 19.4% of patients; 40.8% to 46.2% and 11.0% to 17.0% experienced any constipation and a severe grade of constipation during the follow‐up visit, respectively. Digestive system tumor, thyroid endocrinopathies, psychological irritability, and BTP increased the risk for analgesic nonresponse. Conclusions: OXN had a strong analgesic effect in patients with moderate to severe cancer pain; the safety profile is in line with the common adverse effects of opioids, and severe constipation was uncommon. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT02293785. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which compares intravenous ketorolac with or without paracetamol in postoperative pain control after ambulatory surgery. It states that shortened hospital stays have many important advantages which include less disruption in patient's normal and work life activities, reduced risk of acquiring nosocomial infections and venous thromboembolism. It mentions that oral paracetamol and i.v. ketorolac ensures good postoperative analgesia following ambulatory surgery.

Purpose: Neuropathic pain is commonly associated with cancer. Current treatments include combination opioid and adjuvant therapies, but no guidelines are available for dose escalation strategies. This phase II study compared the efficacy and tolerability of two dose escalation strategies for oxycodone and pregabalin combination therapy. Methods: Patients (N = 75) with oncological neuropathic pain, previously untreated with pregabalin, were recruited in 5 Italian institutions between 2007 and 2010. Patients were randomised to two different dose escalation strategies (arm A; N = 38) oxycodone at a fixed dose with increasing pregabalin doses; (arm B; N = 37) pregabalin at a fixed dose with increasing oxycodone doses. Patients were evaluated from daily diaries and follow-ups at 3, 7, 10, and 14 days after beginning treatment with a numerical rating scale (NRS), neuropathic pain scale (SDN), and well-being scale (ESAS). The primary endpoint was a ≥1/3 reduction in pain (NRS); secondary endpoints included the time to analgesia and adverse effects. The study had a 90% probability of detecting the best strategy for a true difference of at least 15%. Results: More patients in arm A (76%) than arm B (64%) achieved ≥1/3 overall pain reduction even after controlling for baseline factors (gender, baseline pain). Group A reported fewer side effects than group B; constipation 52.8% vs. 66.7%; nausea: 27.8% vs. 44.4%; drowsiness: 44.4% vs. 55.6%; confusion: 16.7% vs. 27.8%; itching: 8.3% vs. 19.4%. Conclusions: Both strategies effectively controlled neuropathic pain, but according to the adopted selection design arm A is preferable to arm B for pain control. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00637975 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The analgesic efficacy of oxycodone prolonged-release (PR) combined with naloxone PR (OXN) in postoperative pain management is recognized, however, few studies have examined the efficacy of OXN on pain relief and bowel function following hysterectomy. This study compared the effect of OXN vs. standard treatment for post-operative pain management and bowel function following hysterectomy., Methods: This randomized prospective study included 83 women who underwent laparoscopic/laparotomic hysterectomy. General anesthesia was induced by propofol (1.5-2 mg/kg), fentanyl (50-100 μg) and rocuronium (0.6-1 mg/kg) and maintained with sevoflurane (MAC 0.8-1) and fentanyl (1-2 μg/kg). Intraoperative analgesia was performed with ketorolac (30 mg), paracetamol (1 g) and morphine (0.1 mg/kg). Postoperative analgesia in the control group (N.=41) included morphine (0.2-0.4 mg/kg/day), whereas the OXN (N.=42) group only received oxycodone (10 mg)/naloxone (5 mg) for the first 48 hours. As rescue analgesic, both groups received paracetamol (3 mg). Bowel Function Index (BFI) and pain numeric rating scales (NRS) were measured at day 0, 1, 2, 3, 5 and 7, whereas vital parameters, rescue medication and side effects were recorded for the first three days only., Results: Bowel function indices were significantly improved in OXN-treated patients at all time points compared to morphine-treated patients. Mean static pain NRS was significantly decreased at day 2 and day 3 and dynamic pain NRS at day 3 in the OXN group. Side effects, rescue analgesic and antiemetics were more frequent in the control group., Conclusions: Improved pain control, bowel function and reduced side effects were observed with OXN compared to morphine in patients who underwent hysterectomy.