Newest Medical Trials and FDA approved treatments - Fentanyl Patch

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Greetings Listers: Here is an excerpt from:

http://www.healthconsult.com/treatments.html. This site holds what it says is

the latest information about the newest medical trials. Hope this is

informative.

Peace

D. Chronic Low Back Pain - Fentanyl Patch for Chronic Low Back Pain

For the patients in whom conventional analgesic therapy has not produced

adequate low back pain relief, now there is an option: the Fentanyl Patch. The

patch is applied in the area of the low back and its action lasts for 72 hours

delivering a continuous dose of fentanyl through the skin and into the blood for

effective around the clock pain management. The 50 participants in a study of

the patch had been in pain and on prescription pain medication for at least six

months with less that reasonable results.

Over half had lived with low back pain for three to seven years and all had had

at least one back surgery. Nearly half of the study participants decided to stay

on the patch after the month-long study was over, reports the Journal of Pain

and Symptom Management.

The fentanyl patch comes under the name of Duragesic and it is an opioid based

medication, which means that it needs to be used as stated above, only after

conventional means of therapy have been exhausted. It's main side effects are of

course potential addiction, potentiation with alcohol and other medications such

as benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, antihistamines etc. and it is

contraindicated in patients with COPD, hepatic and/or renal impairment among

other medical conditions.