title: Change Pain: Ever Evolving-An Update for 2016.
abstract: Since 1986, the pharmacological management of pain was mainly based on the WHO "analgesic ladder", with very few drugs available. The huge development of the basic knowledge on pain and its therapy, especially in the past 15 years, has made the "guidelines" of WHO obsolete. That's why, during the presidency of EFIC of one of the authors (GV), an international advisory board was proposed to review the document, but mainly to ameliorate the approach to the pain patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.|Department of Pharmacology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Pergolizzi
authors.affiliation: Department of MESVA, University of L'Aquila, School of Medicine, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paladini
authors.affiliation: Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, LUdeS University, Valletta, Malta. giuvarr@gmail.com.|EFIC®, Brussels, Belgium. giuvarr@gmail.com.|European League Against Pain (EULAP), Zurich, Switzerland. giuvarr@gmail.com.|Paolo Procacci Foundation, Via Tacito 7, 00193, Rome, Italy. giuvarr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giustino
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Varrassi
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Raffa
keywords: Analgesics; Chronic pain; Opioids; Pain; WHO analgesic ladder