Articles: opioid.
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Opioid misuse is a growing crisis. Patients with cancer who are at risk of aberrant drug behaviors are frequently underdiagnosed. The primary objective of this study was to determine the frequency and factors predicting a risk for aberrant opioid and drug use behaviors (ADB) among patients who received an outpatient supportive care consultation at a comprehensive cancer center. In addition, the screening performance of the Cut Down-Annoyed-Guilty-Eye Opener (CAGE) questionnaire adapted to include drug use (CAGE-AID) was compared with that of the 14-item Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients With Pain (SOAPP-14) tool as instruments for identifying patients at risk for ADB. ⋯ The current results indicate a high frequency of an elevated risk of ADB among patients with cancer. Men and patients who have anxiety, financial distress, and a prior history of alcoholism/illicit drug use are at increased risk of ADB.
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Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care · Oct 2018
ReviewEditor's Choice-The cardiovascular implications of sedatives in the cardiac intensive care unit.
Patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit frequently develop multi-organ system dysfunction associated with their cardiac disease. In many cases, invasive mechanical ventilation is required, which often necessitates sedation for patient-ventilator synchrony, reduction of work of breathing, and patient comfort. In this paper, we describe the use of common sedatives available in the endotracheally intubated critically ill patient and emphasize the clinical and cardiovascular effects. ⋯ We note that some sedatives are associated with increased delirium rates, and emphasize that judicious strategies minimizing sedative use are associated with decreases in morbidity and mortality. We also discuss standardized sedation assessment scales and highlight the importance of sedation weaning. Finally, we offer recommendations for sedation use during therapeutic hypothermia, and discuss the use of adjuvant neuromuscular blocking agents.
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The genesis of dyspnea involves the activation of several mechanisms that are mediated and perceived depending on previous experiences, values, emotions, and beliefs. Breathlessness may become unbearable, especially in patients who are terminally ill, whether afflicted by respiratory-, cardiac-, or cancer-related disorders, because of a final stage of a chronic process, an acute event, or both. ⋯ Assessments of the quality of dying for patients in an ICU consistently show that few patients are considered by family members to breathe comfortably at the end of their life. This review focuses on the management of dyspnea in patients with advanced terminal illness, summarizing clinical trial evidence on pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic interventions available for these patients.
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Preclinical studies show that opioids promote angiogenesis, tumor progression, and metastasis, resulting in shorter survival. ⋯ The opioid dose does not shorten the survival of patients with advanced NSCLC. The opioid requirement is associated with shorter survival when opioids are administered any time during the clinical course, independent of the influence of other key factors.
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Because of a soaring number of opioid-related deaths during the past decade, opioid use disorder has become a prominent issue in both the scientific literature and lay press. Although most of the focus within the emergency medicine community has been on opioid prescribing-specifically, on reducing the incidence of opioid prescribing and examining alternative pain treatment-interest is heightening in identifying and managing patients with opioid use disorder in an effective and evidence-based manner. In this clinical review article, we examine current strategies for identifying patients with opioid use disorder, the treatment of patients with acute opioid withdrawal syndrome, approaches to medication-assisted therapy, and the transition of patients with opioid use disorder from the emergency department to outpatient services.