(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   Substance abuse may be seen with opioids, cannabis, cocaine, hypnotics and sedatives. Cannabis is the drug most frequently abused (45…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   Pain in cancer can be assessed only clinically. It is not a well-defined identity. It may be due to tumour,…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   Trigeminal neuralgia is the most common form of pain in people more than 50 years of age. Annual incidence is…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   It is a chronic widespread pain syndrome characterised by reduced pain thresholds and tender points and may present with widespread…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   34.1 Multiple Sclerosis It is a demyelinating disease involving the central nervous system. Onset is usually seen mostly after the…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   Headache is a common problem. It can be primary (headache is the pathology) or secondary (headache secondary to other pathological…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   33.1 Definition Postherpetic neuralgia presents as chronic pain with skin changes lasting for more than 3 months, in the distribution…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   Chronic regional pain syndrome is an inflammatory and neuropathic pain disorder, characterised by involvement of the autonomic nervous system. It…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   Phantom pain is the persistent perception of pain or sensation in the body part after it has been removed. The…

(1) Department of Anaesthesia, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK   Neuropathies can be divided into whether they affect large-diameter fibres or small-diameter fibres. Painful neuropathies involving large fibres Hypothyroidism Painful…