Low Back Pain Treatment: Still an Issue

Newswise — Many Medicare patients with new episodes of low back pain receive care inconsistent with current guidelines – including high use of opioids and advanced imaging tests, reports a study in the February issue of Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters...

Nonopioids for 1/3 of 530,000 Tonsilectomy Patients

Nearly one-third of children who had surgery to remove their tonsils did not need opioids to get adequate pain relief during and after surgery, according to a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY^® 2019 annual meeting.

Tonsillectomy is one of the most common pediatric surgical procedures in the U...

Post Vasectomy Pain: Opioids vs OTC

Newswise – Routine use of opioids after vasectomy doesn't improve pain control, but is associated with a substantial rate of persistent opioid use in the months after the procedure, reports a study in the October issue of The Journal of Urology®, Official Journal of the American Urological...

Lupus Sufferers Rely on Opioids, Despite Evidence

Newswise — Although there is little evidence that opioids effectively reduce pain from rheumatic diseases, a new study finds nearly one in three patients with lupus uses prescription opioids, often lasting longer than a year.

Lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, often leaves those affected with...

Non-Narcotic Use to Lessen Opioid Consumption

Newswise — The United States has approximately 5% of the world’s population, but accounts for 99% of the world’s consumption of hydrocodone, an opioid used to treat long-term pain. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that prescription opioids continue to contribute to the epidemic...

IV Naloxone Infusion: A Hidden Gem

Despite the current opioid crisis, opioids remain the mainstay of analgesic therapy. They are associated with a multitude of side effects, including respiratory depression, pruritus, nausea, vomiting, urinary retention, ileus, and constipation. Beyond certain doses and duration of intake that vary...

Opioid Use for Migraine on the Rise, Despite Lack of Recommendations

Newswise — An increasing number of Americans are using opioids to treat their migraine headaches, despite the fact that opioids are not the recommended first-line therapy for migraine in most cases. That’s according to the ObserVational Survey of the Epidemiology, tReatment and Care Of MigrainE...

“Intra-Household Contagion” May Increase Prescription Opioid Use

Newswise — Washington, DC. While opioid addiction and abuse continues to figure as the most serious public health emergency in the U.S., academic research is increasingly able to identify some of its causes.

Now, a new study in the American Sociological Review, “Does Intra-household Contagion...

Patients in Pain May Have Reduced PCP Access

Newswise — Finding a new doctor for health checkups and general care can pose a challenge to anyone. But for people who take prescription opioid pills for their chronic pain, it might be far harder, according to a new study.

In fact, 40% of 194 primary care clinics contacted for the study said...

Inpatient Opioid Prescribing—Is There a Risk of Continued Use?

Newswise – People who receive opioids for the first time while hospitalized have double the risk of continuing to receive opioids for months after discharge compared with their hospitalized peers who are not given opioids, according to research led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh...