The Pain Management Quiz
Which of the following is the oldest NSAID?
Aspirin, produced in 1897 by Felix Hoffman of the Bayer company, was the first NSAID. Later, phenyl-butazone and indomethacin were introduced. At that time, the mechanism of the action of these medications was unknown.
Who was the first to dismiss the magical attributes of opium but acknowledge its usefulness as a narcotic?
Hippocrates, "the father of medicine", dismisses the magical attributes of opium but acknowledges its usefulness as a narcotic and styptic in treating internal diseases, diseases of women and epidemics (c. 460 B.C.).
Today, about how many Americans use prescription pain medication?
While genetic differences may partially explain why women are more likely to feel pain than men, gender biases may explain why they are treated differently. Which of the following is false?
Researchers at the University of Miami found that when volunteers observed male and female patients expressing the same amount of pain, they had a tendency to view female patients' pain as less intense and more likely to benefit from psychotherapy.
Which is true about most patients on chronic opioid therapy?
Less than 5% of patients tampered with their medications or diverted them to another person. Only a small percentage of pain patients on long-term opioid therapy ask for higher doses, renew their prescriptions early or divert their medication to another person, according to a new study that challenges many common assumptions about prescription opioids.
A recent study shows a strain of hair in mice and humans that contains a variant lacking melanocortin 1 receptor function and so exhibits higher pain thresholds. Which individuals might have altered pain perception as a result of this genetic finding?
Humans and mice with red hair have a different tolerance for pain because their skin's pigment-producing cells lack the function of a certain receptor. Lack of this receptor function causes changes that tip the balance between pain sensitivity and pain tolerance. The findings may be helpful for designing new treatments for pain.
Three tried-and-true antibiotics administered together can block a type of pain triggered by nerve damage in an animal model, as reported in a recent study. Which of the following is not one of the antibiotics with pain blocking potential?
EphB1 is a protein found on the surface of nerve cells. Computer modeling was used to scan a library of FDA-approved drugs, testing if their molecular structures had the right shape and chemistry to bind to EphB1. Their search turned up three tetracyclines.
A recent study showed little benefit from the use of this common OTC pain medication?
Acetaminophen is the most widely used over-the-counter pain reliever in the world — the active ingredient in Tylenol, Excedrin, and hundreds of pain medications. A comprehensive review published in the Medical Journal of Australia found little or no evidence to support the use acetaminophen for most pain conditions. Researchers at the University of Sydney analyzed 36 studies involving over 19,000 people and concluded that the pain-relieving benefits of acetaminophen are modest at best.
Out of 44 pain conditions often treated with paracetamol, which of the following could NOT be justified with high-quality evidence in a recent study?
Which of the following is not a nonverbal sign of pain used during routine pain assessments?
Which of the following is true regarding pain at the end of life?
Which of the following is not a typical cause of cancer-related pain?
