Articles: opioid-analgesics.
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Emerg Med Australas · Feb 2020
Opioid prescribing in the emergency department of a tertiary hospital: A retrospective audit of hospital discharge data.
EDs are a common source of prescription opioids on discharge. We explored opioid prescribing practices in an ED at a tertiary hospital in Victoria, Australia. ⋯ Opioid prescribing was common in this ED, with almost one-quarter of discharge prescriptions being for a prescription opioid. This audit highlights potential areas for practice improvement including review of the quantity of opioid tablets prescribed as well as an opioid plan on discharge from the ED.
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Determining the amount of analgesics required will help burn centers improve their ability to plan for a burn mass casualty incident (BMCI). We sought to quantify the amount of analgesics needed in an inpatient burn population. We hoped that assessing the analgesic use in daily burn care practice will potentially help estimate opioid needs in a burn mass casualty incident (BMCI). ⋯ Our study quantified opioid requirements in an inpatient burn population and identified TBSA (positively) and age (negatively) as significant predictors.
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Safe opioid prescribing practices are critical to mitigate the risk of prescription opioid overdose in adolescents and young adults. However, studies that examine opioid prescribing patterns associated with prescription opioid overdose have mostly focused on older adults. The generalizability of these studies to adolescents and young adults is unclear. ⋯ The findings suggest that when prescribing opioids to adolescents and young adults, practitioners could potentially mitigate overdose risk by using the lowest effective daily dosage, avoiding concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine prescribing, and relying on short-acting opioids. Findings are broadly consistent with prior opioid safety studies focused on older adults.