Articles: opioid-analgesics.
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Retrospective cohort study at a single institution. Patients undergoing specific, elective spinal procedures between 2012 and 2018. ⋯ Patients receiving the lowest dosage of opioid prescriptions with sufficient nonopiate analgesics did not report worse pain relief at POD 30 compared to those receiving higher opioid prescriptions. In light of the opioid epidemic, this study supports initial dosing recommendations by the American Society for Addiction Medicine.Level of Evidence: 3.
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To examine the impact of three sequential statewide policy and legislative interventions on opioid prescribing practices among privately insured individuals in North Carolina. ⋯ The voluntary prescription drug monitoring program launched in 2010 only marginally affected opioid prescribing patterns on its own, but its redeployment as an investigative and clinical tool in multifaceted public policy approaches by the state medical board and legislature later in the decade plausibly contributed to notable declines in prescription rates and days' supply. This study lends new emphasis to the importance of enforcement mechanisms for state and national policies seeking to reverse this critical public health crisis.