title: [Drug therapy of pain: reason overwhelmed by emotion?].
abstract: Successful pain management represents a daily medical challenge for in- and outpatients. The analysis of Swiss drug unit sales data between year 2000 and 2010 of an array of selected analgesic drugs (non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), paracetamol, metamizole, and opioids) identified current trends. While the overall number of treatment-days with analgesics has markedly and steadily increased and opioid usage may be considered as consistent with recently widened indications to non-tumor pain, the use of NSAIDs (whether COX-2-selective or not) entered stagnation and usage of the least well documented substances (paracetamol and metamizole) has more than decupled. These observations are put into perspective with the findings of a brief literature review aimed at summarizing the latest research developments in the field of analgesic drug therapy.
authors.affiliation: Clinique rhumatologique, Hôpital Triemli, Birmensdorferstrasse 497 8063 Zurich. robert.theiler@triemli.zuerich.ch
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Theiler
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dudler
mesh_terms: D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal