Articles: opioid-analgesics.
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Scand J Trauma Resus · Aug 2021
Discharge from the trauma centre: exposure to opioids, unmet information needs and lack of follow up-a qualitative study among physical trauma survivors.
Physical trauma is associated with mortality, long-term pain and morbidity. Effective pain management is fundamental in trauma care and opioids are indispensable for treating acute pain; however, the use and misuse of prescribed opioids is an escalating problem. Despite this, few studies have been directed towards trauma patients in an early phase of rehabilitation with focusing on experiences and perspectives of health and recovery including pain and persistent use of prescribed opioids with abuse potential. To explore pre- and post-discharge trauma care experiences, including exposure to opioids, physical trauma survivors were recruited from a major trauma centre in Norway that provides the highest level of surgical trauma care. ⋯ The findings from this study suggest that in addition to delivery of high-quality biomedical trauma care, health professionals should direct more attention to psychosocial health and safe pain management, including post-discharge opioid tapering and individually tailored follow-up plans for physical trauma survivors.
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Adenotonsillectomies are one of the most common otolaryngologic surgeries performed to alleviate obstructive sleep-disordered breathing and apnea in children. The pain management following adenotonsillectomy continues to be a challenge for both pediatric anesthesiologists and otolaryngologists due to the mortality that stems from the use of opioid pain medications in children who have an increased baseline risk airway obstruction and apnea that is exacerbated by any exposure to opioids. We present a case utilizing bilateral suprazygomatic maxillary nerve (SZMN) blocks or, more accurately, suprazygomatic infratemporal-pterygopalatine fossa injections to achieve opioid-free perioperative analgesia for pediatric adenotonsillectomy with nasal turbinate reduction.
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With a dramatic rise in prescription opioid use, it is imperative to review postsurgical prescribing patterns given their contributions to the opioid epidemic. ⋯ Provider-aimed interventions such as implementation of procedure-specific prescribing guidelines can significantly reduce postoperative opioid prescriptions following spine surgery without increasing the need for refill prescriptions for pain control.