Opioid Prescriptions

In a new study it was found that some physicians are prescribing opioids such as OxyContin 55 times as often as others. Most opioid related deaths are common among patients who frequently prescribe opioids to their patients. A lot of opioids may not do good to their health.

"We found that the 20 per cent of family doctors who are frequent prescribers wrote 55 times as many prescriptions as the 20 per cent of family doctors who prescribe opioids the least. This large variation in practice is concerning," says Dr. Irfan Dhalla, a general internist at St. Michael's Hospital and an adjunct scientist at ICES.

Drug Detox – Alcohol, Opioid, Nicotine Detoxification
Drug detoxification (or drug detox) is a process that helps drug addicts to give up drugs with less or no withdrawal symptoms.

The study, published in the March edition of the journal Canadian Family Physician, examined opioid prescribing rates among family physicians in Ontario. Researchers found doctors who frequently prescribe opioids are also more likely to write the patient's final prescription before death.

"Family physicians are caught in the middle. On the one hand, there are many patients suffering terribly from chronic pain who can't get relief from other treatments. On the other hand, the evidence for long-term treatment with opioids is very weak," says St. Michael's family physician Dr. Philip Berger. "If the drugs were safe, it wouldn't be an issue. But unfortunately they do carry significant risks -- most notably addiction and death from overdose. And it is important to recognize that one reason opioids are prescribed so often is that the pharmaceutical industry has marketed these drugs very aggressively."

Deaths related to opioids in Ontario have more than doubled -- from 13.7 deaths per million residents in 1991 to 33.3 deaths per million residents in 2006. Of the 423 deaths that occurred in 2006, oxycodone -- the active ingredient in OxyContin -- was the opioid most frequently associated with an overdose death.

Patients With Opioid Addictions may Benefit from Collaborative Care
For the majority of patients with opioid addiction, collaborative care with nurse care managers is a successful method of service delivery

In 2010, the provincial government passed the Narcotics Safety and Awareness Act, which will enable the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to better track opioid prescribing in Ontario.

Source-Eurekalert

Withdrawal Symptoms in Newborns Relieved by Drug That Helps Adults Addicted to Opioid Drugs
It has been reported that thousands of infants each year have exposure to opioids before they are born.

Increased Risk of Adverse Events Among Older Adults Linked to Opioid Use
Study says opioids appear to be associated with more adverse events among older adults with arthritis than other commonly used analgesics, including coxibs