Articles: opioid.
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Cancer treatment is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Surgery is a mainstay of treatment for many tumours, and anaesthetists care for cancer patients on a daily basis. ⋯ Retrospective studies have hinted that regional anaesthesia can play a protective role in cancer surgery, but many of these studies are small and subject to bias. We eagerly await the results of several large, randomized controlled trials examining the impact of regional anaesthesia and analgesia on cancer recurrence and survival.
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Dec 2015
ReviewNext generation of novel psychoactive substances on the horizon - A complex problem to face.
The last decade has seen a rapid and continuous growth in the availability and use of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) across the world. Although various products are labeled with warnings "not for human consumption", they are intended to mimic psychoactive effects of illicit drugs of abuse. Once some compounds become regulated, new analogues appear in order to satisfy consumers' demands and at the same time to avoid criminalization. This review presents updated information on the second generation of NPS, introduced as replacements of the already banned substances from this class, focusing on their pharmacological properties and metabolism, routes of administration, and effects in humans. ⋯ NPS are constantly emerging on the illicit drug market and represent an important health problem. A significant amount of research is needed in order to fully quantify both the short and long term effects of the second generation NPS, and their interaction with other drugs of abuse.
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The classification of morphine as a step III analgesic, based on pharmacological data, creates a strong bias toward a belief in the efficacy of this drug. However, double-blind emergency-room trials showed similar levels of pain relief with intravenous acetaminophen as with intravenous morphine in patients with renal colic, low back pain or acute limb pain. In patients with chronic noncancer low back pain, morphine and other strong opioids in dosages of up to 100mg/day were only slightly more effective than their placebos, no more effective than acetaminophen, and somewhat less effective than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). ⋯ Hyperpathia with increased sensitivity to cold leading the patient to request higher dosages should suggest opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Pain specialists in the US have issued a petition asking that strong opioids be used in dosages no higher than 100mg/day of morphine-equivalent, in an effort to decrease the high rate of mortality due to the misuse and abuse of strong opioids (10,000 deaths/year in the US). Healthcare providers often overestimate the efficacy of step III analgesics, despite pain score decreases of only 0.8 to 1.2 points.
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Inappropriate opioid prescribing can lead to patient harm as well as a medicolegal risk to prescribers. Prescribers need to be familiar with the indications, contraindications and harms associated with opioids. ⋯ Failure to comply with these can result in disciplinary action. To avoid potential conflict with differing state regulations on opioid prescribing, doctors should advise patients to get their prescription dispensed in the same state in which it was written.
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Oral Maxillofac Surg · Dec 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialSafety of adjunct pre-emptive intravenous tramadol with midazolam sedation for third molar surgery.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient safety, in terms of adverse events, alterations in blood pressure or oxygen saturation (SpO2) in two routine sedation procedures, with and without intravenous analgesia. ⋯ The results confirm that pre-emptive intravenous tramadol, administered at 1 mg/kg body weight as an adjunct to midazolam sedation for third molar surgery, offers a safe method. But, it should be noted that our previous study shows that it is not a particularly effective analgesic. Further testing is therefore warranted, using other doses or other drugs, to find a better intravenous protocol for postoperative analgesia, with maximum effect and minimal risk, in outpatient oral and maxillofacial surgery procedures.