Alternative therapeutic approaches for the management of intractable pain

Abstract

Intractable pain refers to continuous or recurrent pain that is typically untreatable. The clinical focus for treatment of such pain is to reduce discomfort. Intractable pain reduces the patient’s quality of life, and it is a matter of concern at clinical and societal levels. Historically, various medications have been used to manage intractable pain, including opiates, aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, paracetamol, and local anaesthetics. However, such medications are not always completely effective, and may have various side-effects, creating the need for better ways of managing chronic pain. The aim of this paper is to explore new drugs to use in intractable pain management, which will ideally offer greater efficacy and fewer side effects, compared to older drugs and methods of pain management. A comprehensive literature review was performed and identified four newer types of drugs which may be effective in treating intractable pain compared to the traditional medicines for pain management. The study suggests that ziconotide, tanezumab, capsaicin patch, and cannabinoids might be safer and more efficient drugs for better intractable pain management and ongoing development and approval of these approaches may offer beneficial advances for patients suffering from such conditions.