ABPN Pain Medicine case studies
ABPN Pain Medicine · Put your knowledge to work in context.
Pain Medicine subspecialty certification is administered by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a member board of the American Board of Medical Specialties. It recognizes physicians who already hold primary certification and who want formal, examination-based documentation of advanced competence in evaluating and treating acute and chronic pain. The ABPN Pain Medicine case studies are 5 cases and about 2,211 words.
1Unilateral Hand Pain After Distal Radius Fracture: CRPS or Something Else?
A is a 54-year-old right-handed woman evaluated 7 months after a distal radius fracture treated with casting. She reports constant burning pain (8/10) in the right hand and wrist, with swelling, color changes, and intolerance of light touch; she cannot wear a sleeve.
558 words, about 3 min2Neuropathic and Osteoarthritic Pain in Advanced CKD With Fall Risk
B is a 78-year-old man with painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy and knee osteoarthritis. His eGFR is 22 mL/min/1.73 m²; he takes apixaban for atrial fibrillation, amlodipine, and tamsulosin for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
444 words, about 2 min3Transforaminal Epidural Steroid Injection on Apixaban With Poor Glycemic Control
C is a 62-year-old woman with 8 weeks of right L5 radicular pain from L4-L5 foraminal stenosis. Pain is 8/10, with dorsiflexion weakness (4+/5) and numbness in the L5 distribution.
377 words, about 2 min4Opioid Escalation Request in Chronic Low Back Pain With High Catastrophizing
D is a 44-year-old man with 5 years of axial low back pain after a lifting injury. He takes oxycodone 10 mg every 6 hours (60 MME/day) and requests an increase to 20 mg every 6 hours.
405 words, about 2 min5Sickle Cell Crisis, Stigma, and the Request to Discharge Without Opioids
E is a 35-year-old woman with sickle cell disease who presents to the emergency department in vaso-occlusive crisis with pain 9/10 in her back and legs. She requests intravenous hydromorphone at a specific dose and can name the medications that have worked before.
427 words, about 2 min