Articles: opioid.
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In August 2021, leadership within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) approved a joint clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the management of substance use disorders (SUDs). This synopsis summarizes key recommendations. ⋯ The scope of the CPG is broad; however, this synopsis focuses on key recommendations for the management of alcohol use disorder, use of buprenorphine in opioid use disorder, contingency management, and use of technology and telehealth to manage patients remotely.
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Increases in opioid prescribing contributed to the opioid epidemic in the U.S. Subsequent efforts to promote safer use of opioids for treating pain included augmenting prescription drug monitoring programs and prescribing guidelines. The purpose of this study is to characterize the distribution of opioids dispensed in the U.S. by specialty. ⋯ During a period in which prescribing interventions were expanded, opioid prescribing declined overall, although not uniformly by specialty.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · May 2022
Novel Opioid Analgesics for the Development of Transdermal Opioid Patches That Possess Morphine-Like Pharmacological Profiles Rather Than Fentanyl: Possible Opioid Switching Alternatives Among Patch Formula.
Transdermal fentanyl is widely used in the treatment of severe pain because of convenience, safety, and stable blood concentrations. Nevertheless, patients often develop tolerance to fentanyl, necessitating the use of other opioids; transdermal buprenorphine patch is widely used as an analgesic agent, though available formulation does not provide comparable analgesic effect as transdermal fentanyl patch. Opioids bind to the opioid receptor (OR) to activate both G protein-mediated and β-arrestin-mediated pathways. We synthesized morphine-related compounds with high transdermal absorbability (N1 and N2) and evaluated their OR activities pharmacologically in comparison with fentanyl and morphine. ⋯ While N1 and N2 have higher transdermal absorbability than fentanyl, they also have analgesic effects comparable to those of morphine, suggesting that they may be attractive compounds for the development of novel opioid patches for transitioning from fentanyl patches.
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Observational Study
Subsequent Buprenorphine Treatment Following Emergency Physician Buprenorphine Prescription Fills: A National Assessment 2019 to 2020.
Buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder provided in the emergency department with subsequent buprenorphine treatment by community prescribers is associated with improved outcomes, but the frequency with which this occurs is unknown. We examined the rates of subsequent buprenorphine treatment for buprenorphine-naïve individuals filling buprenorphine prescriptions from emergency physicians and initiated buprenorphine treatment and how such rates varied before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. ⋯ The majority of patients filling buprenorphine prescriptions written by emergency physicians do not subsequently fill prescriptions written by other clinicians, and the rates of subsequent prescriptions were lower after the declaration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. These findings highlight the need for a system of care that improves buprenorphine treatment continuity of care for patients with opioid use disorder from emergency settings to community treatment providers.
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Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol · May 2022
ReviewBeyond the epidural: Alternatives to neuraxial labor analgesia.
Labor creates an intense pain experienced by women across the world. Although neuraxial analgesia is the most effective treatment of labor pain, in many cases, it may not be undesired, not available, or have contraindications. In addition, satisfaction with labor analgesia is not only determined by the efficacy of analgesia but a woman's sense of agency and involvement in the childbirth experience are also key contributors. ⋯ Healthcare provider knowledge of various nonneuraxial analgesic options, including efficacy, contraindications, safe clinical implementation, and side effects of various techniques is needed for optimal patient care and satisfaction. Future rigorous scientific studies addressing all of these labor analgesia options are needed to improve our understanding. This review summarizes the current published literature for commonly available non-neuraxial labor analgesic options.