Articles: opioid-analgesics.
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Opioids are effective analgesics for acute and palliative pain, but there is no evidence base for long-term pain relief. They also carry considerable risks such as overdose and dependence. Despite this, they are increasingly prescribed for chronic pain. In the UK, opioid prescribing more than doubled between 1998 and 2018. ⋯ Opioid prescribing guidelines are not followed. The significant issues are: long-term prescriptions for chronic pain, especially back pain; new patients registering with repeat prescriptions; and no outcomes of treatment agreed, a crucial message is the goal is pain management rather than relief. Changes have been introduced at the practice: a patient information sheet, compulsory 1-month review for new patients on opioids, and in-surgery pain referrals.
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Opioid Dose and Benzodiazepine Use Among Commercially Insured Individuals on Chronic Opioid Therapy.
To examine morphine milligram equivalent (MME) trends, use of concurrent opioids and benzodiazepines, and opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits or hospitalizations in a national cohort of patients on chronic opioid therapy. ⋯ Although the average MME decreased over time, patients on combination opioid and benzodiazepine and those with opioid-related ED visits and hospitalizations had significantly higher doses.
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Multicenter Study
Classifying Preoperative Opioid Use for Surgical Care.
We characterized patterns of preoperative opioid use in patients undergoing elective surgery to identify the relationship between preoperative use and subsequent opioid fill after surgery. ⋯ Preoperative opioid use is common among patients who undergo elective surgery. Although the majority of patients infrequently fill opioids before surgery, even minimal use increases the probability of needing additional postoperative prescriptions in the 30 days after surgery when compared with opioid-naive patients. Going forward, identifying preoperative opioid use can inform surgeon prescribing and care coordination for pain management after surgery.
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Consequences of prescription opioid use involve harms, addiction, tolerance and death. Despite routine prescription, opioids are not recommended for initial intervention by any major multidisciplinary low back pain (LBP) guideline. ⋯ This review identified trends of higher harms rates and higher percentages of severe harms in opioid arms for the management of subacute and chronic LBP. The majority of trials that demonstrated benefits with opioids also had potential conflicts of interest. Lastly, non-opioid medications demonstrated statistically significant pain improvement compared with opioids. We feel that the results of the trial are supportive of current LBP guidelines and do not condone the initial use of opioids in management of subacute or chronic LBP.
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Review Practice Guideline
[Method report of the second update of the guidelines on long-term opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain].
The update of the German S3 guidelines on long-term opioid therapy of chronic noncancer pain (CNCP), the LONTS (AWMF registration number 145/003), was scheduled for February 2020 due to the expiry of the validity period. ⋯ The guidelines will be published in several forms: complete and short scientific versions as well as clinical practice and patient versions.