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Analgesics↗
Biomedical subjects
T N Rubin
Publications and source records attributed to T N Rubin.
The pain cocktail as an adjunctive agent in the treatment of spine pain patients.
A retrospective review of 20 spine pain patients hospitalized between May 1977 and May 1979, who received pain cocktails was performed to determine the effectiveness of this manner of decreasing pain medication requirements. The primary objective of the pain cocktail is to reduce or eliminate addiction, habituation, and pain medication consumption. The pharmacist is responsible for regulating dosages, performing the compounding, and writing the orders for the pain cocktails. Gradual medication adjustments, based on the patient's need and tolerance, are made. Medication was reduced in 19 of the 20 patients. Twelve patients who started on narcotic analgesics and six who started on pentazocine had a final medication reduction of 71 percent and 51 percent respectively. Five of the 12 patients receiving narcotic analgesics in their initial cocktail were tapered to acetaminophen at time of discharge. Results were favorable and indicate the pain cocktail as a beneficial treatment modality for selected spine pain patients.
Analgesics↗
Urinary hesitancy with therapeutic doses of L-tryptophan.
L-tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin, in doses of 4 to 5 g/d, has been found to be effective in increasing sleep time, reducing sleep latency, and reducing the number of awakenings. In this report, L-tryptophan 4-6 g/d was administered, along with niacinamide 100 mg and pyridoxine 50 mg, for sleep. Two days after starting L-tryptophan, the patient reported difficulty in voiding. Medications with known anticholinergic activity were selectively discontinued during the patient's hospital course. Seven days after the last dose of L-tryptophan, improvement was noted in the patient's urinary status. Prior to discharge, doxepin was restarted and titrated up to 150 mg/d without a recurrence of urinary problems.
Humans↗
Treatment of tardive dyskinesia and mania with RBC lithium determinations.
The authors report the usefulness of RBC lithium determinations in managing the treatment of tardive dyskinesia. They present a case report in which manic manifestations and tardive dyskinesia symptoms paralleled the rise and fall of RBC lithium and plasma lithium levels were constant during the period of symptom improvement. They conclude that RBC lithium levels appeared to reflect toxicity, control of mania, and symptom suppression of tardive dyskinesia better than plasma lithium levels alone.
Antipsychotic Agents↗