Distinguished U.S. Medical Journal Applauds Declaration “Access to Pain Management is a Fundamental Human Right”
Newswise — Anesthesia & Analgesia, the oldest medical journal in the field of pain medicine, announces its support for the Declaration of Montréal, which was issued by the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) at the First International Pain Summit in Montreal on September 3. The Declaration states that “Access to Pain Management Is a Fundamental Human Right.” Anesthesia & Analgesia’s editors also congratulate Professor Michael Cousins, who for nearly two decades has been a champion for the belief that access to pain management is a fundamental right.
Anesthesia & Analgesia shares the view of Professor Cousins, and IASP, that access to pain management represents both an urgent social problem and an ongoing scientific challenge. The editors hold that many forms of suffering can be effectively managed with inexpensive therapies--such as generic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or oral morphine—and that it is regrettable that these inexpensive therapies are not universally made available to patients needing them. Making these therapies available does not require new discoveries, they say, just new policies. Other forms of pain are refractory to the most sophisticated interventions medicine can offer. Only scientific progress in pain transduction, transmission, and perception can offer these patients relief from suffering, according to the editors. They comment, “Anesthesia & Analgesia is proud to promote all aspects of pain management, from simple drug therapies to cutting-edge research.”
A longstanding proponent of pain management, Anesthesia & Analgesia published the landmark contribution by Drs. Brennan, Carr, and Cousins, “Pain management: a fundamental human right” (Anesth Analg 2007;105:205–21), which serves as one of the foundation documents for the Declaration of Montréal. In fact, Anesthesia & Analgesia is the only journal in the field of anesthesiology to be cited in the Declaration. The journal worked with the World Health Organization to promote their efforts, publishing the editorial “The World Health Organization paves the way for action to free people from the shackles of pain” (Anesth Analg 2007;105:1–4) that accompanied the paper by Drs. Brennan, Carr, and Cousins. In addition to these efforts to promote changes in policy, each month the Journal publishes scientific advances in pain medicine and pain mechanisms.
“From its inception in 1922, Anesthesia & Analgesia has recognized the fundamental role of pain management in medicine,” comments Dr. Steven Shafer, Editor-in-Chief. “We are proud to have had a modest role in helping Dr. Cousins and his colleagues advance the case that access to pain management is a fundamental human right, and applaud the IASP for advancing this vision of a world without unmanaged pain.”
The full text of the Declaration of Montréal can be found at www.iasp-pain.org.
About the IARSThe International Anesthesia Research Society is a nonpolitical, not-for-profit medical society founded in 1922 to advance and support scientific research and education related to anesthesia, and to improve patient care through basic research. The IARS contributes nearly $1 million annually to fund anesthesia research; sponsors an annual forum for anesthesiology leaders to share information and ideas; maintains a worldwide membership of more 15,000 physicians, physician residents, and others with doctoral degrees, as well as health professionals in anesthesia-related practice; sponsors the SAFEKIDS initiative; and publishes the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia. Additional information about the society and the journal may be found at www.iars.org and www.anesthesia-analgesia.org.
About Anesthesia & AnalgesiaAnesthesia & Analgesia was founded in 1922 and was issued bi-monthly until 1980, when it became a monthly publication. A&A is the leading journal for anesthesia clinicians and researchers and includes more than 500 articles annually in all areas related to anesthesia and analgesia, such as cardiovascular anesthesiology, patient safety, anesthetic pharmacology, and pain management. The journal is published on behalf of the IARS by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), a division of Wolters Kluwer Health.
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