Articles: opioid.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2021
Characterizing Patients after Opioid Taper in a VA Medical Center.
To identify potential areas for intervention and gain insight on current practice in patients who are tapered to zero morphine equivalent daily doses (MEDD) through the Pharmacy Pain E-Consult at a Veterans Healthcare System. This was done by describing the types of follow-up care and resources utilized by patients. This project is a retrospective chart review of Veterans with non-cancer pain on chronic-opioid therapy consulted to the pharmacy e-consult service and tapered to 0 MEDD. ⋯ Follow-up with mental health and pain management clinical pharmacy specialists decreased post-taper. Tapering to zero MEDD did not lead to a significant increase in pain one-year post-taper; however, approximately 33% of patients were re-started on opioids within one year post-taper. Average MEDD scores decreased post-taper as expected but with effects on mental health being largely unknown, we believe that further study in this area will help us better support patients.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2021
Naloxone prescribing and education in outpatient pain management and palliative care.
Over the past two decades, opioid use and overdose have increased substantially. Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal agent, has been one of many risk mitigation strategies for preventing mortality due to overdose. Most literature describing naloxone utilization has been about populations of illicit drug users and patients in hospitals, primary care, and pharmacies. ⋯ Seven patients reported picking up their naloxone prescription from the pharmacy, and none reported using it within two weeks of the initial education. This intervention was deemed successful within the clinic, but small sample size and the pharmacist role may not be replicable within other pain and palliative care settings. It encourages further research of overdose risk and prevention in pain management and palliative care.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jun 2021
Case ReportsSpiritual Healing in a Hospice Veteran Led to a Successful Opioid Taper: A Case Report.
Addressing "total pain" is a concept commonly practiced in palliative care. Spiritual healing in a Navy Veteran led to a significant improvement in pain allowing a voluntary taper of opioid medication. ⋯ A reduction in opioid morphine equivalent daily doses (MEDD) were 87.5% without any symptoms from the clinical opioid withdrawal scale (COWS). The Veteran died peacefully during an opioid taper in hospice care.
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Arch Orthop Trauma Surg · Jun 2021
Meta AnalysisPrevalence and risk factors for prolonged opioid use after total joint arthroplasty: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression.
Opioids are a mainstay for pain management after total joint arthroplasty (TJA). The prevalence and risk factors for prolonged opioid use after TJA are important to understand to help slow the opioid epidemic. We aim to summarize and evaluate the prevalence and time trend of prolonged opioid use after TJA and pool its risk factors. ⋯ To our knowledge, this is the first meta-analysis determining the risk factors of prolonged opioid use and characterizing its rate and time trend in TJA. Understanding risk factors for patients with higher potential for prolonged opioids use can be used to implement appropriate management strategies, reduce unsafe opioid prescriptions, and decrease the risk of prolonged opioid use after TJA.
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Review Practice Guideline
Surgery and opioids: evidence-based expert consensus guidelines on the perioperative use of opioids in the United Kingdom.
There are significant concerns regarding prescription and misuse of prescription opioids in the perioperative period. The Faculty of Pain Medicine at the Royal College of Anaesthetists have produced this evidence-based expert consensus guideline on surgery and opioids along with the Royal College of Surgery, Royal College of Psychiatry, Royal College of Nursing, and the British Pain Society. This expert consensus practice advisory reproduces the Faculty of Pain Medicine guidance. ⋯ For opioid-naive patients (patients not taking opioids before surgery), no more than 7 days of opioid prescription is recommended. Persistent use of opioid needs a medical evaluation and exclusion of chronic post-surgical pain. The lack of grading of the evidence of each individual recommendation remains a major weakness of this guidance; however, evidence supporting each recommendation has been rigorously reviewed by experts in perioperative pain management.