Title: COVID-19 pandemic: Implication on pain injection drug therapy

Abstract:

COVID-19 pandemic has emerged to bring about a new shift in our beliefs toward chronic pain management. Since the disease lowers the body's immune system, the use of drugs that suppress immune system is not recommended during pandemic. These include steroids  that the side effects of  them have always been discussed, but have never been taken as seriously as they are now.Many other medications have been discussed to relieve pain from simple oppressed ones like dextrose water and normal saline to local anesthetic and many adjuvants and regeneration therapy which  some of them have  never been routinely used for pain injections. It's time to dump steroids and move on them. The use of these medications in clinical practice is less auspicious and more research is needed on the practical application of them. Further areas for research include studies to determine definitive efficacy and further safety assessment, determine whether the analgesic effects of these drugs are time-dependent  and the optimal identification of candidates, volume and concentration  and intervals of injection  are essential for routine application  in pain practice.

Biography:

Helen Gharaei has completed her MD in the Mashhad University of Medical Science (1992) and postdoctoral studies in anesthesiology in Uremia University School of Medicine and has got her pain fellow degree from Tehran University of Medical Science from Iran (2012), and FIPP degree (Fellowship of Interventional Pain Practice) from Texas Tech University, USA (2013). She has specialized training in minimally invasive chronic pain procedures for medically challenging patients and practice in a private multidisciplinary clinic in Tehran, Iran. She has published many books and papers focusing on the safety of pain injection and has been serving as an editorial board in the reputed journal. She invited as a speaker in many international conferences from the beginning of her professional carries. She is an international trainer & researcher and known as a pioneer on ultrasound-guided spine injection, especially she is the inventor of the IRAN technique in spine injection. She has been teaching at multiple interventional pain management courses including cadaver workshops of ultrasound & fluoroscopy-guided pain injection locally and abroad. She is an education committee in interventional pain and spine center (IPSC) and founder of Son- Guide Pain Injection School of Iran. She constantly contributes to the growth of pain education worldwide.