SCIOS

Description

Who Will Benefit From This Activity?

This continuing education (CE) activity was developed for nurse practitioners (NPs) who diagnose and treat patients suffering from chronic pain and insomnia.

Why Is This Activity Important?

The prevalence and severity of insomnia are grossly underestimated. One third of Americans report having sleep difficulties, and 9% of Americans describe insomnia as a regular problem. Insomnia tends to worsen with age; more than 50% of elderly people report having at least 1 of the most common sleep complaints (trouble falling asleep, waking up frequently, waking up early, needing to nap, and feeling fatigued) much of the time. As the population of the United States ages, insomnia will likely become a more common complaint in clinical practice.

Sleep difficulties are compounded among the large number of people with conditions that result in chronic pain. Roughly 1 in 4 American adults reports suffering a day-long bout of pain in the past month, and 10% of people say their pain lasted a year or more. Between 50% and 89% of patients with chronic pain report unrefreshing sleep on a regular basis. Many conditions associated with chronic pain—arthritis, fibromyalgia, back pain, musculoskeletal injury, bone degeneration, migraine or other headache, acid reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer, trigeminal neuralgia, and diabetic and other types of neuropathies—thus may be associated with chronic sleep deprivation. The synergistic interaction between sleep deprivation and pain sensitivity is particularly insidious. Recent evidence suggests that certain opioids taken to treat pain can disturb sleep patterns and that frequent awakening under experimental conditions can increase pain sensitivity.

Method of Participation

This activity should take approximately 2 hours to complete. The participant should, first, review the CE information in this webcast, then review the entire presentation, in order, along with the question-and-answer session, before completing the evaluation and posttest. A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the test



		Description Who Will Benefit From This Activity? This continuing education (CE) activity was developed for nurse practitioners (NPs) who diagnose and treat patients suffering from chronic pain and insomnia. Why Is This Activity Important? The prevalence and severity of insomnia are grossly underestimated. One third of Americans report having sleep difficulties, and 9% of Americans describe insomnia as a regular problem. Insomnia tends to worsen with age; more than 50% of elderly people report having at least 1 of the most common sleep complaints (trouble falling asleep, waking up frequently, waking up early, needing to nap, and feeling fatigued) much of the time. As the population of the United States ages, insomnia will likely become a more common complaint in clinical practice. Sleep difficulties are compounded among the large number of people with conditions that result in chronic pain. Roughly 1 in 4 American adults reports suffering a day-long bout of pain in the past month, and 10% of people say their pain lasted a year or more. Between 50% and 89% of patients with chronic pain report unrefreshing sleep on a regular basis. Many conditions associated with chronic pain—arthritis, fibromyalgia, back pain, musculoskeletal injury, bone degeneration, migraine or other headache, acid reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer, trigeminal neuralgia, and diabetic and other types of neuropathies—thus may be associated with chronic sleep deprivation. The synergistic interaction between sleep deprivation and pain sensitivity is particularly insidious. Recent evidence suggests that certain opioids taken to treat pain can disturb sleep patterns and that frequent awakening under experimental conditions can increase pain sensitivity. Method of Participation This activity should take approximately 2 hours to complete. The participant should, first, review the CE information in this webcast, then review the entire presentation, in order, along with the question-and-answer session, before completing the evaluation and posttest. A grade of 80% or higher is required to pass the test