Articles: opioid-analgesics.
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Nearly 10% of all patients who visit the emergency department report severe abdominal pain. Out of these, almost one-third are not diagnosed accurately. The conventional practice to care for such inpatients involves actively managed observation and repetitive clinical assessments at regular intervals. The aim of this study is to assess the clinical therapeutic effects of opioid analgesia in the treatment of severe abdominal pain in kids and adolescents. ⋯ May 29, 2021.osf.io/fp9ym (https://osf.io/fp9ym/).
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To assess the impact of Florida's 3-day opioid prescription supply law, effective July 2018, on opioids dispensed for acute pain patients. ⋯ Among a group of privately-insured plan enrollees in Florida, and as a result of the law, there were significant decreases in the number of units dispensed, and total MMEs of opioid prescriptions. The immediate reduction in new opioid utilization following policy implementation suggests effective policy; however, impacts on chronic pain patients were not assessed.
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Observational Study
Association of Dose Tapering With Overdose or Mental Health Crisis Among Patients Prescribed Long-term Opioids.
Opioid-related mortality and national prescribing guidelines have led to tapering of doses among patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain. There is limited information about risks related to tapering, including overdose and mental health crisis. ⋯ Among patients prescribed stable, long-term, higher-dose opioid therapy, tapering events were significantly associated with increased risk of overdose and mental health crisis. Although these findings raise questions about potential harms of tapering, interpretation is limited by the observational study design.