Diverting Their Child's Opioids

Diversion has long been recognized as one aspect of the overall public health issue presented by opioid misuse, and SAMHSA has reported that almost 50% of US teenagers who misuse a prescription opioid obtained the drug from a relative or friend. But there are increasing reports of diversion in the...

Opioid Safety and Service Members

New policies and training invoked by Navy Medicine, providing medical services to sailors, Marines, and family members, are designed to strike a balance between ensuring safe use of opioids and preserving access to them for the treatment of chronic pain. Patients in the care of Navy Medicine will...

Does the Opioid Threat Go Beyond Opioids?

In 2017, the state of Kentucky became the first to classify gabapentin as a Schedule 5 substance, following the finding that the drug was involved in up to 33% of overdose fatalities during the prior year. This means that prescriptions for gabapentin will be reported to the state’s PDMP going...

Are Better-Educated Boomers More Likely to Abuse Opioids?

A new study conducted by researchers from the University at Buffalo School of Nursing is one of the first to focus specifically on the risk factors for opioid misuse in older adults. This population is particularly sensitive to adverse effects from opioids, according to the researchers. Study author...

Chronic Opioid Therapy and Spinal Fusion

Findings from new research conducted at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center conclude that long-term opioid therapy is associated with an increased risk of complications following spinal surgery. Lead author Safdar Kahn, MD,  an orthopedic spine surgeon at Wexner Medical Center’s...

Managing Chronic Pain: Should You Start with Opioids or Nonopioids?

In a step to address the dearth of clinical research on opioid therapy for chronic pain, a new long-term study finds no advantages to opioid medications over nonopioids for the management of pain from hip or knee osteoarthritis or chronic back pain. Lead author Erin Krebs, MD, MPH, with the...

Reducing Medication Burden While Managing Chronic Pain

Per the department of Health and Human Services, opioid related overdose deaths have increased almost 400% over the last 18 years. This shift has yielded heightened scrutiny of prescribing practices, and opioids have subsequently fallen out of favor as a first-line treatment for chronic pain. In...

Can a Failed Osteoarthritis Drug Have Other Pain Management Uses?

Although human trials of a new compound developed by Eli Lily and Co. for the treatment of osteoarthritis failed to demonstrate efficacy, the drug may still have substantial utility in the pain management armamentarium. Findings from a study conducted by researchers from Indiana University suggest...

Abuse Deterrent Technologies to Minimize Opioid Abuse

Although opioids remain an important tool in aiding the management of pain in the United States, the balance between the potential benefits and harms must be considered. Some specific harms are manifested in the abuse of opioids for nonmedical purposes. The primary access to prescribable opioids for...

Pneumococcal Infections Risks: Another Adverse Effect of Opioids?

A new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reports that opioid users are at greater risk for serious infections including pneumonia and meningitis vs individuals who do not use opioid medications. The risk for invasive pneumococcal diseases was found to be 1.62 times higher among the...