November 6, 2006

The arthritis dilemma: When drugs help but also hurt patients

An article in this "newspaper for American's physicians" about use of drugs to relieve arthritis pain includes a comment by professor April Vallerand of the WSU College of Nursing. Referring to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality regarding the risks and benefits of pain medication, she said "it puts the issues on the line and helps physicians sort through the benefits and risks for each individual patient, which is truly how we have to manage pain today." She added that she wishes there were better options. "You look through the report, and it says there are problems with everything. . . . I think the key to this will be to individualize to a particular patient.

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