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Pain Management 2018
Internal Medicine 2018
International Journal of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine
ISSN: 2471-982X
Page 92
March 26-28, 2018
Vienna, Austria
JOINT EVENT
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E d i t i o n o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o n
Internal Medicine and Patient Care
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E d i t i o n o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n f e r e n c e o n
Pain Management
Volume 4
F
or centuries, medical and surgical treatment has emphasized
saving the life of the patient rather than ameliorating the
patient’s pain, particularly when there were few options for the
latter. Today at the dawn of the 21st century, the best available
evidence indicates a major gap between an increasingly
understanding of the pathophysiology of pain and widespread
inadequacy of its treatment. Epidemiologic evidence has proven
that chronic pain is a widespread public health issue. Studies of
cancer patients’ pain control consistently reveal that up to half
of patients receive inadequate analgesia and 30% do not receive
appropriate drugs for their pain. Equally, for patients suffering
HIV/AIDS, 60%-100% will experience pain at some stage in their
illness. In the developed world, this gap has prompted a series
of declarations and actions by national and international bodies
advocating better pain control. One response to the worldwide
undertreatment of pain has been to promote the concept that
pain relief is a public health issue of such critical importance as
to constitute an international imperative and fundamental human
right. The importance of pain relief as the core of themedical ethic
is clear. Pain clinicians promote the status of pain management
beyond that of appropriate clinical practice or even an ethic of
good medicine. They advocate a paradigm shift in the medical
professions’ perspective on pain management, from simply good
practice to an imperative founded on patient rights.
mndaher@inco.com.lbPain relief is a human right
Michel Daher
University of Balamand, Lebanon
Int J Anesth Pain Med 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-982X-C1-003