Articles related to OPIOIDS

By 2018, gabapentin and opioids were prescribed in an overlapping manner in 7.6% of prescriptions. Prescribers are likely responding to restrictions on opioid prescribing put in place during the opioid epidemic. Increased co-prescribing was most frequently done under the direction of a pain specialist. Still, the effectiveness of the concurrent prescribing of opioids and gabapentin is uncertain and potentially dangerous because of an association with all-cause and drug-related hospitalizations.

According to the researchers who published their findings in JAMA Network Open, the percentage of chronic pain patients using non-drug therapies without opioids remained relatively stable at 20% from 2011 to 2016, but it then increased quickly, reaching 40% in 2019. Non-opioid therapy is preferred for treating chronic pain, according to CDC guidance. However, neither the use of opioids alone nor in combination with non-drug treatments for chronic pain significantly decreased following the 2016 guidance. In fact, while about 3% to 15% of patients used opioids alone, their use increased slightly between 2016 and 2018 (from about 10% to 15% of patients).

The controversial 2016 CDC opioid guideline for chronic pain is updated and replaced by the new guidance, which addresses acute, subacute, and chronic pain for primary care and other clinicians. Some organizations misapplied the 2016 guideline, which was perceived as imposing strict opioid dose and duration limits. As a result, the guideline authors clarified their recommendations in 2019.

A small group of patients (n=34) using opioids for fibromyalgia were randomized to wear green, blue, or unfiltered glasses for 4 hours per day for 2 weeks. There was no impact on pain scores. Those wearing green glasses trended (nonsignificantly) toward lower anxiety scores. The green glasses group did have lower opioid use.

Part 1—Pain Management Fundamentals Following completion of this activity (1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, 1.0 AANP credit, 1.0 ACPE credit, 1.0 ANCC credit), the participant should be able to: Explain the importance of comprehensive pain education Outline the fundamental concepts of pain management, such as pain definitions and pain mechanisms. Examine patients who are in pain, including identifying risk factors for substance abuse and addiction. Discuss the various pain-management approaches, including nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic (non-opioid and opioid analgesic) therapies.

Gabapentin has been increasingly used as part of a multimodal analgesia regimen to reduce opioid use in perioperative pain management. In this cohort study of 237,872 adults aged 65 years or older, perioperative gabapentin users had significantly increased risk of delirium, new antipsychotic use, and pneumonia compared with nonusers after major surgery.