Articles: opioid.
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Preventive medicine · Nov 2015
HIV prevention and treatment strategies can help address the overdose crisis.
Since the 1990s, effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies have been coordinated and implemented in the United States, resulting in substantial reductions in HIV-related death and HIV transmission among people who use injection drugs. During the same period, despite substantial long-term funding of War on Drugs policies, opioid addiction, driven by increased prescription opioid use and heroin accessibility, has made overdose the leading cause of accidental injury death in the United States. This commentary describes how the prevention and treatment successes among people who use drugs in the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be applied to address the opioid overdose crisis.
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British journal of pain · Nov 2015
Prescribing opioid analgesics for chronic non-malignant pain in general practice - a survey of attitudes and practice.
This study replicates a previous postal survey of general practitioners (GPs) to explore whether attitudes to opioid prescribing have changed at a time when the number of opioid prescriptions issued in primary care has increased. ⋯ Given the national trend for increased opioid prescriptions, it is unsurprising that more frequent self-reported prescribing is reported here; however, increased frequency does not translate into less reluctance about prescribing. The effectiveness of strong opioids for chronic pain is recognised, but concerns about addiction, dependence and misuse inform a reluctance to use strong opioids. These juxtapositions highlight a continued need for clearer understanding of GPs' perceptions of strong opioids and point to the potential benefit of dedicated guidelines or specialist education and training to address their uncertainties.
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To determine whether the prevalence of opioid use among patients requiring elective same-day admission (SDA) surgery is greater than the 2.5% prevalence found in the general population. Secondary objectives were to assess compliance with expert recommendations on acute pain management in opioid-tolerant patients and to examine clinical outcomes. ⋯ Opioid use is more common in SDA surgical patients than in the general population and is most prevalent within orthopedic and neurosurgery patients. Uptake of expert opinion on the management of acute pain in the opioid tolerant patient population is lacking.
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The Journal of urology · Nov 2015
Postoperative Pain Management after Radical Cystectomy: Comparing Traditional versus Enhanced Recovery Protocol Pathway.
Opioids have traditionally been the mainstay of pain management after radical cystectomy for bladder cancer but they have many side effects. The efficacy of opioid sparing analgesics after cystectomy as part of a protocol of enhanced recovery after surgery has yet to be proved. We compared opioid use, pain score and postoperative ileus in consecutive patients on a protocol of enhanced recovery after surgery and those on a traditional protocol after radical cystectomy. ⋯ Patients on the protocol of enhanced recovery after surgery used significantly less opioid analgesics, possibly contributing to decreased postoperative ileus and shorter length of hospital stay.
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Therap Adv Gastroenterol · Nov 2015
ReviewEvolving paradigms in the treatment of opioid-induced bowel dysfunction.
In recent years prescription of opioids has increased significantly. Although effective in pain management, bothersome gastrointestinal adverse effects are experienced by a substantial proportion of opioid-treated patients. This can lead to difficulties with therapy and subsequently inadequate pain relief. ⋯ In conclusion, opioid antagonists restricted to the periphery show promising results, but use of different definitions and outcome measures complicate comparison. However, an international working group has recently suggested a consensus definition for opioid-induced constipation and relevant outcome measures have also been proposed. If investigators within this field adapt the suggested consensus and include symptoms related to dysfunction of the upper gut, it will ease comparison and be a step forward in future research.