Managing pain in inflammatory bowel disease.
Pain is a common complaint in inflammatory bowel disease, and it has significant consequences for patients' quality of life. A thorough evaluation to determine the source of patients' pain should include clinical, laboratory, radiologic, and endoscopic assessments as indicated. Differentiating among active inflammation, secondary complications, and functional pain can be complicated. Even when all active disease is adequately treated, clinicians are often left with the difficulty of managing chronic pain. This paper will review the benefits and limitations of several commonly used treatments and promising future therapies. A suggested treatment algorithm will provide some guidance in this challenging area of inflammatory bowel disease management.
Dr. Docherty is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology, Dr. Jones III is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, and Dr. Wallace is a Professor of Clinical Anesthesia and Director of the Center for Pain and Palliative Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology, all at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla, California.
Michael J
MJ
Docherty
R Carter W
RC
Jones
Mark S
MS
Wallace