Articles: opioid.
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The United States opioid epidemic is a nationwide public health crisis. Initially driven by increased consumption and availability of pharmaceutical opioids, an increasing number of opioid overdoses are now related to heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs. Addressing this epidemic requires addressing the stigma associated with opioid use disorders and its treatment, improving access to efficacious treatment options, specifically methadone and buprenorphine, and reducing opioid overdose fatalities with distribution of the opioid antagonist and overdose reversal agent naloxone.
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Medications such as methadone and buprenorphine are effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD), but levels of use remain low. Given the importance of the news media as a source of health information for the public and its role in shaping knowledge about these medications, we examined reporting on OUD medication treatment amid the opioid crisis. Analyzing news media reporting can provide insight into the public dialogue around this issue. ⋯ Fewer than 40 percent of news stories about the medications mentioned that they were underused. Although addiction experts view underuse of OUD medications as a significant barrier to combating the opioid crisis, our findings suggest that underuse has not been framed as a problem in most news media reporting on these medications. Public health and addiction experts need to develop more effective strategies for disseminating information on the value of these medications in reducing opioid-related morbidity and mortality.
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Opioid misuse is a significant public health problem. Chronic pain is one highly prevalent factor that is strongly associated with increased risk for opioid misuse. ⋯ Results indicated that anxiety sensitivity total score was significantly associated with the relationship between pain intensity and current opioid misuse, as well as pain intensity and severity of opioid dependence. Overall, results suggest that anxiety sensitivity may be an important assessment and intervention target to ultimately reduce the rates of opioid misuse among adults with chronic pain.
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J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol · Apr 2019
ReviewMultimodal analgesia as an essential part of enhanced recovery protocols in the ambulatory settings.
Enhanced recovery after surgery protocols are multimodal perioperative care pathways designed to achieve early recovery in patients after surgical procedures by defining and maintaining preoperative organ function and minimizing the profound stress response following surgery. Enhanced recovery protocols have primarily been studied for major abdominal surgeries, however, the knowledge acquired from studying these protocols has facilitated treating patients in ambulatory settings. ⋯ A PubMed search was performed with the following key words: multimodal analgesia, enhanced recovery, ambulatory care, pain management, and opioids. We discuss the use of enhanced recovery protocols and multimodal pain care plans in the ambulatory setting.