Articles: opioid.
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Chronic pain is among the leading causes of disability worldwide, of which only a small percentage of patients receive adequate treatment for. Non-prescribed opioid analgesics are commonly sought out in effort to alleviate unrelieved pain. This study assesses the prevalence and correlates of chronic pain among primary fentanyl users. ⋯ Our work points to the high prevalence of self-reported chronic pain among individuals who primarily use fentanyl. Among those with self-reported fentanyl use and chronic pain, self-medication with street opioids was found to be common and associated with higher reported pain levels on a typical day. This highlights the need for pain management strategies to be integrated into opioid dependence treatment and more research in the overlap of pain and fentanyl use.
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Persistent opioid use (POU) is a common marker of harm related to opioid use after trauma. This study determined the incidence and risk factors for POU after hospitalisation due to trauma in New Zealand, among opioid-naïve patients. This was a population-based, retrospective cohort study, using linked data, involving all trauma patients of any age admitted to all NZ hospitals between 2007 and 2019. ⋯ The opioid exposure risk factors associated with POU included switching between different opioids (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.51-2.73), prescribed multiple opioids (vs codeine, aOR 1.44; 95% CI 1.37-1.53), slow-release opioid formulations (aOR 1.32; 95% CI 1.26-1.39), and dispensed higher total doses of on the initial discharge prescription (aOR 1.26; 95% CI 1.20-1.33). Overall, 1 in 7 opioid-naïve patients who were exposed to opioids after trauma developed POU. Our findings highlight clinicians should be aware of these factors when continuing opioids on discharge.
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Anesthesia and analgesia · Jan 2025
Differences in Acute Postoperative Opioid Use by English Proficiency, Race, and Ethnicity After Total Knee and Hip Arthroplasty.
There is increasing interest in documenting disparities in pain management for racial and ethnic minorities and patients with language barriers. Previous studies have found differential prescription patterns of opioids for racial and ethnic minority group and patients having limited English proficiency (LEP) after arthroplasty. However, there is a knowledge gap regarding how the intersection of these sociodemographic factors is associated with immediate postoperative pain management. This study aimed to explore language and racial-ethnic disparities in short-term opioid utilization after total hip and knee arthroplasty. ⋯ We identified an association between LEP, racial-ethnic identity, and short-term postoperative OME utilization after total knee and hip arthroplasty. The observed differences in opioid utilization imply there may be language and racial-ethnic disparities in acute pain management and perioperative care.
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Acta Anaesthesiol Scand · Jan 2025
Procedure time-of-day effects on postoperative opioid requirements in children.
Postoperative analgesic requirements in adults follow circadian rhythm patterns with requirements for opioids and local anesthetics highest in the morning. Procedure time of day may also potentially affect circadian rhythm patterns with surgery at night promoting wakefulness during nighttime hours. This disruption may produce a shift in the circadian rhythm and potentially affect when postoperative opioid requirements are highest. We hypothesized that children undergoing surgery at night would have higher postoperative opioid requirements during nighttime hours secondary to a shift in the circadian rhythm with those requirements remaining higher than daytime requirements for the duration of the hospital stay. ⋯ We found that procedure time of day did not impact postoperative opioid requirements in children undergoing a laparoscopic appendectomy for complicated appendicitis. Both children undergoing an appendectomy during the day or at night required more morphine equivalents during daytime hours than during nighttime hours. Surgery at night did not produce a shift in opioid requirements postoperatively from daytime hours to nighttime hours in children undergoing an appendectomy at night.