Consultants: Dr. Ravi Prasad & Christine Teklehaimanote

About: Sickle Cell Disease is a rare disease, and extraordinarily painful. CDC guidelines for pain and opioids exclude Sickle Cell Disease. This leaves PCPs, Hematologists, and Pain Specialists without clear, specific guidelines. Oftentimes, pain specialists will approach Sickle Cell Disease pain using an opioid epidemic approach, or an opioid reduction approach, rather than a suffering approach. This 2-part course reviews evidence-based guidelines for pain management in Sickle Cell Disease, as well as what to do in the cases of intractable pain and opioid failure.

Learning Objectives – An Overview of Pain Management in Sickle Cell Disease

• Non-pharmacological Treatment of painful episodes Opioid Failure
• Pharmacological Treatment of painful episodes
• Separate disease management from pain management
• Co-occurring substance use disorders
• The exit plan
• Buprenorphine
• Case studies (success of gabapentin and nerve blocks) (success of bupe)