Articles related to OPIOIDS

1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™1.0 ACPE contact hour (0.1 CEU) Release Date: May 1, 2022Expiration Date: May 1, 2023 Learning ObjectivesAfter completing this activity, participants should be better able to: Describe the pharmacologic and safety differences between conventional and atypical opioids. Recognize appropriate patients who might benefit from buprenorphine as a first-line opioid analgesic. Understand how to transition opioid therapy from full µ-opioid analgesics to buprenorphine when appropriate.

With fast symptom relief and reinforcing effects, benzodiazepines were once the gold standard for treating insomnia and anxiety. As opioids dominate headlines along with the public health crisis of drug overdose deaths, is it time to reconsider benzodiazepines as a course of treatment?

The story of “Dr. H,” an up-and-coming physician who was charged with 14 counts of murder in June 2019 after prescribing patients extremely high doses of fentanyl. The prosecution said Dr. H had intended to hasten or cause the deaths of the 14 patients, and it did not matter whether they were severely ill or close to dying. The defense argued the physician was merely relieving the patients’ suffering and that they died from their underlying diseases or being removed from ventilators. Who did the jury agree with?

“The guideline was never intended to set a standard of care in the treatment of pain, much less was it intended to serve as a means to criminally prosecute clinicians. While the new guideline is a substantial improvement, harm from the 2016 guideline will not be easily erased and will require more specific wording than is currently present.” (Requires free registration / login)

The CDC has released updated guidelines for prescribing opioids. The newest guidelines focus on patient-centered decisions and reduce some limitations on prescribing that were put in place back in 2016. The updated guidance recognizes the ongoing increase in opioid-related deaths, but seeks to give physicians and patients more direction in managing individual therapy.