pain management

August 24, 2020

Land of plenty (of opioids)

Surgical patients are being given more opioids than they need for postsurgical pain management, raising the risk of addiction.

By Paul Govern
An initiative at VUMC is helping patients recover more quickly from major surgery, leave the hospital earlier and have fewer side effects from their pain management.
February 13, 2020

VUAH applies new approach for patient recovery after surgery

An initiative at VUMC is helping patients recover more quickly from major surgery, leave the hospital earlier and have fewer side effects from their pain management.

By Paul Govern
February 28, 2019

Personalized pain management

Understanding how natural brain chemicals with pain-relieving properties interact with administered opioids may guide personalized approaches for pain management.

By VUMC News and Communications
August 16, 2018

Battlefield acupuncture used as alternative for chronic pain

Franklin resident Diane Grich admits she was surprised when she was asked if she would like to try acupuncture instead of a more invasive medical procedure to address the chronic lower back pain that had troubled her off and on for 17 years; she chose acupuncture.

By Jill Clendening
February 21, 2017

Laughing gas for labor

Although nitrous oxide was less effective than epidural anesthesia for pain management during labor, mothers who used nitrous oxide were equally satisfied with their childbirth experience.

By Sanjay Mishra
July 28, 2016

Changes in care improve recovery for surgery patients

Many patients having surgeries at Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt are experiencing better recoveries, with less opioids for pain, fewer post-surgery complications and shorter hospital stays due to the work of a medical team that has transformed the way surgeries are handled.

By Jill Clendening
May 13, 2016

New pain medicine from a fungus?

Collybolide – a natural product isolated from a mushroom – is a promising candidate for the development of non-addictive pain medicines.
By Sanjay Mishra
June 4, 2015

Study highlights need for orthopaedic surgeons to use caution when prescribing opioid pain medications

A Vanderbilt physician researcher is highlighting that orthopaedic surgeons are among the highest prescribers of opioid pain medicine in the United States and calling on practitioners to exercise caution when prescribing the potentially addictive pain medicine.
By VUMC News and Communications
April 13, 2015

Vanderbilt study finds babies exposed to narcotic pain relievers more likely to experience drug withdrawal syndrome

Legally prescribed narcotics taken during pregnancy can lead to neonatal abstinence syndrome, especially in combination with tobacco or SSRIs.
By Christina Echegaray
January 20, 2015

Vanderbilt study finds use of methadone to treat pain carries increased risk of death

Outside the hospital, use of methadone to treat pain carries a 46 percent increased risk of death when compared to the equally effective but more costly alternative, morphine SR (sustained release).
By Paul Govern
October 24, 2014

Capstone app project for MOOC to manage cancer patients’ pain

1,165 budding programmers are participating in the university’s first MOOC capstone project – one that will result in a certificate for graduates and better pain management for patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
By VUMC News and Communications