A new guideline is available for managing acute and chronic pain in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD).
Developed by the American Pain Society's new clinical practice guidelines committee, the document is the first evidence-based guideline devoted to SCD pain. Sickle cell disease includes a group of inherited blood disorders that are characterized by anemia and occlusion of blood vessels. Pain is a hallmark clinical manifestation of the disorder.
"I see patients every day who have suffered a lifetime of needless pain simply because their health care professionals don't understand or practice the principles of good pain management," said Lennette Benjamin, MD, clinical director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, a coauthor of the guideline.
The guideline points to the need for regular evaluation of patients with SCD so that the efficacy or adverse effects of pain medication can be . . . [Full Text of this Article]
