Opioid limits didn’t change surgery patients’ experience, study shows

Worries that surgery patients would have a tougher recovery if their doctors had to abide by a five-day limit on opioid pain medication prescriptions didn’t play out as expected, a new study finds.
Instead, patient-reported pain levels and satisfaction didn’t change at all for Michigan adults who had their appendix or gallbladder removed, a hernia repaired, a hysterectomy or other common operations after the state’s largest insurer put the limit in place, the study shows.

Overdose deaths from fentanyl laced stimulants have risen 50-fold since 2010

New UCLA-led research has found that the proportion of US overdose deaths involving both fentanyl and stimulants has increased more than 50-fold since 2010, from 0.6% (235 deaths) in 2010 to 32.3% (34,429 deaths) in 2021. This rise in constitutes the ‘fourth wave’ in the US’s long-running opioid overdose crisis

U.S. Drug Overdose Deaths More Than Quadrupled from 1999 to 2020

Regardless of race, age, geography or urbanization, drug overdose deaths in the U.S. more than quadrupled from 1999 to 2020, causing 1,013,852 deaths. The rates increased 4.4 times from 6.9 per 100,000 in 1999 to 30 per 100,000 in 2020.

Multiple substance use disorders may share inherited genetic signature

New research led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis identifies a common genetic signature that may increase a person’s risk of developing substance use disorders. The work eventually could lead to universal therapies to treat multiple substance use disorders and potentially help people diagnosed with more than one.

CHOP Researchers Find Rate of Fatal Opioid Poisonings Among Children More Than Doubled Over 13-Year Span

Researchers found opioids were responsible for more than half of all fatal poisonings in children ages 5 and younger, more than double the proportion of fatal poisonings caused by opioids in 2005. Additionally, over-the-counter drugs still contribute to fatal poisonings in this age group despite increased regulation. The findings, published today in the journal Pediatrics, underscore the need for improved intervention to prevent further fatal poisonings.

Researchers Endorse Widespread Naloxone Over the Counter to Prevent Drug Overdose Deaths

Naloxone is an opioid receptor antagonist that rapidly reverses or blocks the effects of opioids, restores normal respiration and heart rhythm, and reverses the potentially fatal effects of an overdose. Although naloxone is included in U.S. CDC recommendations, the drug is currently prescribed to less than 1 in 70 patients prescribed high-dose opioid prescriptions. Researchers propose a call to action for all health providers and state medical societies to ensure the widest distribution and easy availability of naloxone, including over the counter, which is likely to be FDA-approved very soon.

Cleveland Clinic Studying Stem Cell Treatment for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

Cleveland Clinic was awarded $5.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to develop a stem cell treatment for complex regional pain syndrome, a disease that causes debilitating chronic pain.
The research shows long-term potential for providing patients suffering from chronic pain an alternative to addictive treatments like opioids.

Poll: Aching joints make older adults reach for many forms of pain relief – but health risks could follow

Popping a pill may bring short-term relief for arthritis-related joint pain, but many older adults may not realize that what they swallow could raise their risk of other health problems, or that other non-drug options could help them, a new poll suggests.

UCLA researchers use artificial intelligence tools to speed critical information on drug overdose deaths

Fast data processing of overdose deaths, which have increased in recent years, is crucial to developing a rapid public health response. But the system now in place lacks precision and takes months. To correct that, UCLA researchers have developed an automated process that reduces data collection to a few weeks.

Children and teens getting spinal surgery don’t need so many opioids, study suggests

Children and teens with scoliosis undergoing spinal fusion can be prescribed fewer opioids while still receiving adequate pain control after surgery, a new study finds. Patients receiving preoperative education on the risks of opioids and the importance of nonopioid pain management options consumed fewer opioids after surgery.

Nonopioid pain prescriptions increased after 2016 CDC guideline, study finds

After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a guideline for prescribing opioids to patients experiencing chronic pain in 2016, the prescribing rate of non-opioid pain medication increased each year above and beyond what would be expected based on the preexisting trends, a new study finds. Researchers say the findings suggest more clinicians are carefully considering the risks of prescribing opioids.

New Documents Show McKinsey’s Role in Opioid Epidemic

The UCSF-JHU Opioid Industry Documents Archive released more than 114,000 documents related to McKinsey & Company’s work showing how they advised opioid makers to help increase sales, despite the growing public outcry over the opioid epidemic.

University Hospitals and UC Irvine Announce New Co-Leadership of BraveNet, a Practice-Based Integrative Medicine Research Network

University Hospitals (UH) Connor Whole Health and Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute (SSIHI) at University of California, Irvine have joined in collaboration to lead BraveNet — the first and largest whole health, practice-based research network in the U.S.