Hours after experiencing a flare-up related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Kenney Blewett of Kyle, Texas, died by suicide in June.

Listen to Life Kit - The dos and don'ts of taking over-the-counter pain medications by NPR on Podcast Addict. Ibuprofen, acetaminophen and aspirin — there are many over-the-counter pain medications available, but are they all the same? And how much should you really take? In this episode, pharmacists and a doctor cover your drug options, including side effects, dosage and what to reach for the next time you have a headache or fever. This episode was originally published on March 31, 2025.Follow us on Instagram: @nprlifekitSign up for our newsletter here.Have an episode idea or feedback you want to share? Email us at lifekit@npr.orgSupport the show and listen to it sponsor-free by signing up for Life Kit+ at plus.npr.org/lifekitSee pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Elite sports medicine to manage acute pain should integrate both a biopsychosocial approach and interprofessional collaboration.

A £2.3m study will look at whether a personalised pain management plan can improve the quality of life of women who have the debilitating condition.

A £2.3m study will look at whether a personalised pain management plan can improve the quality of life of women who have the debilitating condition.

A £2.3m study will look at whether a personalised pain management plan can improve the quality of life of women who have the debilitating condition.

A £2.3m study will look at whether a personalised pain management plan can improve the quality of life of women who have the debilitating condition.

Access 92K+ verified Pain Management Physicians contacts filtered by specialty, geography, role, and seniority. Verified B2B email list for Physicians & Internal Medicine outreach — delivered in 24–48 hours.

Background: Effective pain and opioid management education remains a persistent challenge in health professions training. Static case studies and lecture-based instruction are widely used but may be insufficient to develop the clinical reasoning and communication skills required in practice. Interactive virtual patient simulations, including those powered by large language models, offer scalable alternatives, but head-to-head comparisons of interactive and static case formats using identical content among interprofessional learner populations remain limited. Objective: This randomized controlled trial examined whether learner knowledge, quiz performance, and engagement differed when educational case studies were delivered through an interactive, AI-enabled virtual patient format versus a static written format. Because the formats differ in interactivity as well as in their use of AI, the trial was designed to test the effect of an “interactive virtual patient format” rather than to isolate any AI-specific effect. Methods: Health professional students from medicine, #nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, and allied health programs at a US academic health sciences university viewed a 12-minute video on pain management and were then randomized 1:1 to complete either 3 static written case studies or 3 interactive virtual patient case studies using the Figment Learning Labs Virtual Clinic. Case content was identical across conditions; only the delivery format was manipulated. The virtual patient system used an AI-enabled conversational interface (GPT-4o) delivering facilitator-authored case material, including a viewable medical record. Knowledge was assessed preintervention and postintervention using an 8-item test. Case discussion quiz accuracy and learner engagement (17 items) were also measured. Of 74 enrolled participants, 58 (78%) completed all study components and were included in this completer-based analysis. Analyses included a 2×2 mixed ANOVA and 2-tailed independent-sample tests (α=.05). Results: A significant time (pre-post)×group (interactive vs written) interaction was observed (=4.39; =.04; partial η²=0.07), indicating greater knowledge gains in the interactive condition. Participants in the virtual patient group demonstrated higher case discussion quiz accuracy (mean 0.79, SD 0.15) than those in the written case group (mean 0.64, SD 0.11; =4.48;

There are several reasons why all of a person's joints hurt suddenly, including infections or a flare-up of certain chronic conditions. Learn more.