Opioid Prescriptions from ED are for a Shorter Duration
Opioid prescriptions from the emergency department are written for a shorter duration and smaller dose than those written elsewhere.
Opioid prescriptions from the emergency department are written for a shorter duration and smaller dose than those written elsewhere.
‘SROM-based oral opioid agonist therapy is effective and has a lower risk for drug-drug interactions. But, further research is needed to include SROM in the U.S.’
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A
commentary //from the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use is
published in Annals of Internal Medicine. With more Americans dying from accidental opioid-related overdoses than from motor vehicle accidents and homicides combined, it is clear that evidence-based solutions are urgently needed.
Non-opioid Pain Medication Reduces Opioid Uses After Surgery
Routine use of Gabapentin, a non-opioid pain medication, after surgery reduces dependence on opioid medication for pain relief.
Routine use of Gabapentin, a non-opioid pain medication, after surgery reduces dependence on opioid medication for pain relief.
Despite the proven benefits of opioid agonist therapy with buprenorphine or methadone, several health system and regulatory barriers to this treatment persist throughout North America.
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Exploring Treatment Options for Opioid Dependence
To facilitate a smooth transition from active use of illicit opioids to naltrexone, more work is needed to overcome the detox hurdle.
To facilitate a smooth transition from active use of illicit opioids to naltrexone, more work is needed to overcome the detox hurdle.
In addition, buprenorphine and methadone may not be effective for all patients. These barriers have resulted in a large unmet treatment need, leaving an estimated gap of up to one million persons with untreated opioid use disorder, who continue to be at risk for overdose death and other negative health and social outcomes.
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New Technology Shows Promise to Combat Opioid Crisis
An experimental heroin vaccine induced antibodies that prevented the drug from crossing the blood-brain barrier in mice and rats.
An experimental heroin vaccine induced antibodies that prevented the drug from crossing the blood-brain barrier in mice and rats.
Existing studies suggest that SROM has comparable efficacy to methadone and is well-tolerated by patients, with a lower risk for drug-drug interactions.
SROM-based oral opioid agonist therapy is increasingly and successfully used in several European countries and Canada, but more research is needed before it can be determined how SROM could be used in the United States.
The authors suggest that the U.S. must also address the regulatory burdens that create barriers to treatment.
The Canadian model, in which methadone is dispensed through daily witnessed ingestion in community-based pharmacies could be adapted in this country, which could help to overcome current treatment gaps.
Source-Eurekalert
