Articles: opioid.
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To compare the efficacy and side effects of patient-controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) with hydromorphone, sufentanil, and oxycodone on the management of advanced cancer patients with pain. ⋯ PCIA provided timely, safe, and satisfactory analgesia for advanced cancer patients with pain and may be useful for titration of opioids, management of severe breakthrough pain, and conversion to oral analgesia. There was no significant difference of analgesic effect and side effect among the hydromorphone, sufentanil, and oxycodone.
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Comparative Study
Effect of a high dosage opioid prior authorization policy on prescription opioid use, misuse, and overdose outcomes.
High dosage opioid use is a risk factor for opioid-related overdose commonly cited in guidelines, recommendations, and policies. In 2012, the Oregon Medicaid program developed a prior authorization policy for opioid prescriptions above 120 mg per day morphine equivalent dose (MED). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of that policy on utilization, prescribing patterns, and health outcomes. ⋯ Oregon's prior authorization policy was effective at reducing high dosage opioid prescriptions. While multiple pharmacy use also declined, we found no impact on opioid overdose were observed.
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Brain injury : [BI] · Jan 2018
Do postconcussive symptoms from traumatic brain injury in combat veterans predict risk for receiving opioid therapy for chronic pain?
Opioid therapy is contraindicated in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with neuropsychological impairment, yet guidelines do not consistently predict practice. We evaluated independent risk for initiation of opioid therapy among combat veterans with chronic pain diagnoses and persistent postconcussive symptoms. ⋯ Increased opioid prescribing in veterans with self-reported severe persistent postconcussive symptoms indicates a need to educate prescribers and make non-opioid pain management options available for veterans with TBI and neuropsychological sequelae.
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Postgraduate medicine · Jan 2018
Observational StudyReduction of opioid use and improvement in chronic pain in opioid-experienced patients after topical analgesic treatment: an exploratory analysis.
There is a need to identify safe and effective opioid-sparing multimodal alternative treatment strategies and approaches, including topical analgesics, for opioid-experienced chronic pain patients to mitigate the risk of addiction, misuse, and abuse of opioids. ⋯ Opioid use and other concurrent medications decreased among opioid-experienced chronic pain patients after 3- and 6- months of treatment with topical analgesics. Pain severity and interference scores also decreased. The topical analgesics were reported to be effective and safe for the treatment of chronic pain, with randomized controlled trials needed to confirm these findings.
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Opioid abuse has become an epidemic in the United States. On August 25, 2016, the former Surgeon General of the United States sent an open letter to care providers asking for their help with combatting this growing health crisis. Social media forums like Twitter allow for open discussions among the public and up-to-date exchanges of information about timely topics like opioids. Therefore, the goal of the current study is to identify the public's reactions to the opioid epidemic by identifying the most popular topics tweeted by users. ⋯ Twitter allows users to find current information, voice their concerns, and share calls for action in response to the opioid epidemic. Monitoring the conversations about opioids that are taking place on social media forums like Twitter can help public health officials and care providers better understand how the public is responding to this health crisis.