Articles: opioid.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2018
Comparative Study Observational StudyCharacteristics of Unscheduled and Scheduled Outpatient Palliative Care Clinic Patients at a Comprehensive Cancer Center.
There is limited literature regarding outpatient palliative care and factors associated with unscheduled clinic visits. ⋯ Unscheduled new FU patients have higher levels of physical and psychosocial distress and higher opioid intake. Outpatient palliative care centers should consider providing opportunities for walk-in visits for timely management and close monitoring of such patients.
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Chronic opioid therapy is associated with worse patient-reported outcomes (PROs) following spine surgery. However, little literature exists on the relationship between opioid use and PROs following epidural steroid injections for radicular pain. ⋯ Increased pre-injection opioid use does not impact long-term outcomes after ESIs for degenerative spine diseases. A pre-injection MEA around 50 mg/day may represent a threshold above which the 3-month effectiveness of ESI for back- and neck-related disability decreases. Epidural steroid injection is an effective treatment modality for pain in patients using opioids, and can be part of a multimodal strategy for opioid independence.
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Substance use disorders (SUDs) are known to cause or complicate treatment of many types of cancers. ⋯ Veterans with cancer and SUD showed a specific risk for liver disease and a higher use of opioids. Collaborative teams involving oncology, palliative care, and psychiatry may be best able to address the challenge of providing adequate and safe opiate pain control for this vulnerable population.
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The opioid epidemic, driven in part by increased prescribing, is a public health emergency. This study examines dispensed prescription patterns and approvals of new opioid analgesic products to investigate whether the introduction of these new drugs increases prescribing. ⋯ An online visual overview is available for this article at http://links.lww.com/ALN/B705.
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Pain is one of the most common reasons patients present to the emergency department (ED). Emergency physicians should be aware of the numerous opioid and nonopioid alternatives available for the treatment of pain. ⋯ Analgesia in the ED should be provided in the most safe and judicious manner, with the goals of relieving acute pain while decreasing the risk of complications and opioid dependence.