Articles: opioid.
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J Psychoactive Drugs · Jul 2018
Changes in Withdrawal and Craving Scores in Participants Undergoing Opioid Detoxification Utilizing Ibogaine.
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is currently an epidemic in the United States (US) and ibogaine is reported to have the ability to interrupt opioid addiction by simultaneously mitigating withdrawal and craving symptoms. This study examined opioid withdrawal and drug craving scores in 50 participants with OUD undergoing a week-long detoxification treatment protocol with ibogaine. The Addiction Severity Index (ASI) was used for baseline characterization of participants' OUD. ⋯ At 48 hours following ibogaine administration, withdrawal and craving scores were significantly lowered in comparison to baseline: 78% of patients did not exhibit objective clinical signs of opioid withdrawal, 79% reported minimal cravings for opioids, and 68% reported subjective withdrawal symptoms in the mild range. Ibogaine appears to facilitate opioid detoxification by reducing opioid withdrawal and craving in participants with OUD. These results warrant further research using rigorous controlled trials.
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Reducing opioid consumption during and after surgery has been recommended for more than 10 years. Opioid-free anaesthesia (OFA) is a multimodal anaesthesia associating hypnotics, NMDA antagonists, local anaesthetics, anti-inflammatory drugs and α-2 agonists. Proofs of the effect of OFA on reducing opioid-related adverse effects after major or intermediate non-cardiac surgery are still scarce. We hypothesised that the reduced opioid consumption allowed by OFA compared with standard of care will be associated with a reduction of postoperative opioid-related adverse events. ⋯ The POFA trial has been approved by an independent ethics committee for all study centres. Participant recruitment begins in November 2017. Results will be published in international peer-reviewed medical journals.
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BMC Pharmacol Toxicol · Jun 2018
Prescription opioid dispensing in New South Wales, Australia: spatial and temporal variation.
Patterns of opioid dispensing often exhibit substantial temporal and geographical variability, which has implications for public health policy decisions and interventions. The study examined recent trends in prescription opioid dispensing and identified high dispensing areas and factors associated with the doses dispensed. ⋯ Given that over-use of opioids is a major public health problem and that long-term use has substantial side effects including dependence, it is important to understand spatial patterns of opioid prescribing to enable targeted interventions. Nationwide implementation of real-time drug-monitoring programs and access to monitoring databases from both doctor and pharmacy point-of-care sources may potentially reduce excessive and undue use of opioid.