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| Pain management is essential because even when the underlying disease process is stable, uncontrolled pain prevents patients from working productively, enjoying recreation, or taking pleasure in their usual roles in the family and society. Chronic pain may have a myriad of causes and perpetuating factors, and therefore can be much more difficult to manage than acute pain, requiring a multidisciplinary approach and customized treatment protocols to meet the specific needs of each patient.
Optimal treatment may involve the use of medications that possess pain-relieving properties, including some antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antiarrhythmics, anesthetics, antiviral agents, and NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) antagonists. NMDA-receptor antagonists, such as dextromethorphan and ketamine, can block pain transmission in dorsal horn spinal neurons, reduce nociception, and decrease tolerance to and the need for opioid analgesics. [Anesth Analg 2001 Mar;92(3):739-44] By combining various agents which utilize different mechanisms to alter the sensation of pain, physicians have found that smaller concentrations of each medication can be used. Topical and transdermal creams and gels can be formulated to provide high local concentrations at the site of application (e.g., NSAIDs for joint pain), for trigger point application (e.g., combinations of medications for neuropathic pain), or in a base that will allow systemic absorption. Side effects associated with oral administration can often be avoided when medications are used topically. Studies suggest that there are no great restrictions on the type of drug that can be incorporated into a properly compounded transdermal gel. When medications are administered transdermally, they are not absorbed through the gastrointestinal system and do not undergo first-pass hepatic metabolism. We work together with patient and practitioner to solve problems by customizing medications that meet the specific needs of each individual. Please contact our compounding pharmacist to discuss the dosage form, strength, and medication or combination that is most appropriate for your patient. Novel Anti-inflammatory Gel for Transdermal Delivery When compounding medications, a compounding pharmacy must continually expand its armamentarium of bases, from which the most appropriate base is selected for the intended use of a compounded preparation. The results from the in vitro study showed that the ricinoleic acid PLO gel possessed significantly higher anti-inflammatory activity than isopropyl palmitate PLO gel. Further testing of the formulation showed that the ricinoleic acid PLO gel formulation significantly reduced pain and edema when compared to the isopropyl palmitate PLO gel. In addition, the ricinoleic acid PLO gel formulation markedly inhibited the synthesis of prostaglandin E2. Int J Pharm. 2015 Feb 1;479(1):207-11. Topical and Transdermal Drug Administration Topical drug treatment aims at providing high concentrations of drugs at the site of application so as to avoid adverse systemic effects associated with oral administration. Smart polymers, or stimuli-responsive polymers, are able to respond to a stimulus by showing physical or chemical changes in the delivery of the drug carried by them. The thermo-responsive nature of certain gels such as Pluronic® F-127 and pluronic lecithin organogels (PLO), makes them excellent candidates for the delivery of drugs at various application sites. These bases have attracted particular interest in the formulation of topical and transdermal delivery systems with regard to promoting, improving or retarding drug permeation through the skin, bearing in mind that for topical delivery systems, accumulation in the skin with minimal permeation is desired, while for systemic delivery, the opposite behavior is preferred. J Pharm Pharm Sci. 2012;15(4):592-605.
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