Ziva Cooper, research director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative, has been awarded a $3.9 million grant from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the NIH to study whether cannabis chemicals called terpenes can reduce the amount of opioid medication a person needs to reduce pain.
Tag: Opioids
ASA, AAOS launch toolkit to help physicians safely, effectively alleviate patients’ postoperative pain with reduced opioid use
To help physicians safely and effectively alleviate pain and encourage optimal opioid stewardship in patients following surgery, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) today released the Pain Alleviation Toolkit. The toolkit provides physicians and patients with resources to encourage communication and decision-making to help reduce patients’ postoperative pain as much and as safely as possible.
Peggy Compton, PhD, Selected for Induction to the International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame
Penn Nursing’s Peggy Compton, PhD, RN, FAAN, the van Ameringen Chair in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing and an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health, will be honored by Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) for her contributions to the nursing profession during the 31st International Nursing Research Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, July 23-27, 2020.
March 2020 Issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology Includes Complementary & Alternative Therapies for Functional GI Disorders
The March issue of The American Journal of Gastroenterology features evidence-based articles related to complementary and alternative medicine therapies for functional GI disorders, a new ACG Clinical Guideline for the diagnosis and management of Chronic Pancreatitis, opioid-related constipation, and more.
PA School Nurses on the Frontlines of the Opioid Epidemic
At the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), researchers conducted an online survey of 362 Pennsylvania school nurses (elementary, middle, and high school) to better understand how they have a supply, administer, and perceive storing naloxone in their schools. The results illustrate that though many nurses have a supply of naloxone in their school, important barriers to access and use of this life-saving medication still exist.
Outreach effective in connecting people who have opioid use disorder with long-term treatment
Proactive outreach, including knocking on the doors of individuals who recently overdosed on opioids, can be an effective way to engage more people who have opioid use disorder with long-term care, according to researchers at UTHealth.
Battling treatment resistant opioid use disorder
Similar to treatment resistant depression, there is a subpopulation of those addicted to opioids who do not respond to standard opioid use disorder (OUD) treatments. In a new paper, an addiction expert at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests a new category for these types of patients: treatment resistant opioid use disorder (TROUD).
IU study looks at the effect of Medicaid expansion on hiring attempts in substance use treatment workforce
While Medicaid expansion has led to substantial increases in Medicaid reimbursement for substance use treatment, it has not specifically led to a detectable increase in hiring attempts to increase the substance use disorder and behavioral health treatment workforce, according to a study by Indiana University researchers.
For Low Back Pain in Older Adults, Treatment Doesn’t Match Guidelines
Many Medicare patients with new episodes of low back pain receive care inconsistent with current guidelines – including high use of opioids and advanced imaging tests, reports a study in the February issue of Medical Care. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Program reduces narcotic prescriptions after surgery with over-the-counter pain medicine
Surgeons at Houston Methodist Hospital are stemming the tide of addiction to prescription opioids by managing patients’ pain after surgery. By using long-acting local anesthetics at the site of surgery and scheduled non-narcotic pain medicine, they decreased opioid prescriptions from 87% to 10% after surgery.
Shifting Clinic Culture to Address the Opioid Epidemic
At a family medicine clinic in the Boston area, a team led by faculty from Tufts University School of Medicine conducted a five-year case study where they found medical facilities can help physicians to treat chronic pain in a way that will deter opioid misuse, while creating better processes to identify and treat patients who develop an opioid use disorder.
Research shows nasal spray antidote is easiest to give for opioid overdose
Of three possible ways for people to deliver the life-saving antidote naloxone to a person experiencing an opioid overdose, the use of a nasal spray was the quickest and easiest according to research conducted by William Eggleston, clinical assistant professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York, and colleagues at SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Opioid Overdose Risk Factors for Teens, College-Aged Youth Same as Adults
Older teens may have similar risk factors for prescription opioid overdose as adults, a new study suggests.
American Chiropractic Association Launches Website to Enhance Public Understanding of Chiropractic
Hands Down Better, a website launched by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), is a new resource for those who seek alternatives to pain medications and surgery for common musculoskeletal conditions such as back pain, neck pain, joint pain and headaches.
A Person’s Perception of Risk Can Tell Us About Their Chances of Opioid Relapse
People in treatment for opioid addiction are more likely to relapse when they become more tolerant of risks, according to a study by Rutgers and other institutions. The findings can help clinicians better predict which patients are most vulnerable.
Opioid prescription doses are increasingly being tapered, often more rapidly than recommended
Stigma and safety fears have made daily dose tapering of opioid prescriptions more common. New research from UC Davis Health physicians, however, shows tapering can occur at rates as much as six times higher than recommended, putting patients at risk of withdrawal, uncontrolled pain or mental health crises.
Is opioid treatment available to those who need it most?
The U.S. opioid epidemic is still raging – it’s particularly pronounced in low-income areas and in those where people lack access to health care services, which includes cities in Michigan and across the Rust Belt. But the effectiveness of efforts to provide treatment and recovery options to those who need it most – that is, in locations with the greatest number of deaths from opioid overdose – has been unclear.
Manual Therapy Providers Forge Closer Ties at Interprofessional Collaborative Spine Conference
More than 160 members of the chiropractic, physical therapy and osteopathic professions forged a new spirit of cooperation and understanding during the Interprofessional Collaborative Spine Conference (ICSC), which took place Nov. 8-9 in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Accountability Program May Prevent Opioid Overprescribing
Colleagues at the University of California at Irvine have developed an electronic prescription drug accountability program to keep track of prescribing among hospitalists, primary care physicians, and emergency department physicians within an institution.
Nanoparticle Drug Delivery Provides Pain Relief and More Effective Opioid Alternative in Animal Study
An international team of researchers has used nanoparticles to deliver a drug—one that previously failed in clinical trials for pain—into specific compartments of nerve cells, dramatically increasing its ability to treat pain in mice and rats. The findings are published Nov. 4 in Nature Nanotechnology.
Of All Professions, Construction Workers Most Likely to Use Opioids and Cocaine
Construction workers are more likely to use drugs than workers in other professions, finds a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU College of Global Public Health.
IU experts available to comment on on Ohio counties settlement with four drug companies on the eve of the federal trial
Two Ohio counties settled with four drug companies on the eve of a landmark federal trial over responsibility for the opioid epidemic.The $260 million deal emerged just an hour before opening arguments were to begin Monday. Indiana University expert Nicolas…
National focus on overdose prevention should include alcohol too, study suggests
The need to prevent and rapidly treat opioid overdoses is in the spotlight. But a new study suggests more focus is needed on the risk of alcohol overdoses among people who use opioids of all kinds, and other drugs. Ninety percent of residential recovery center patients surveyed had overdosed on alcohol at least once, and 80 percent of them said that at the time of their overdose, they had also been taking other drugs.
New Opioid Prescription Dosages Drop 22 Percent in Penn Medicine’s New Jersey Practices Following Changes to State Law and Health Record Alerts
The total amount of opioids dispensed per new opioid prescription decreased by 22 percent in Penn Medicine outpatient practices in New Jersey after the state passed a law limiting prescriptions to a five-day supply for new opioid prescriptions. Penn Medicine implemented an electronic health record (EMR) alert, or “nudge,” to notify clinicians if that limit had been reached. The study, published online today in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, is one of the first evaluations of a state law’s impact on prescribing outcomes, and is the first report of an EMR being used to make compliance with prescribing limits easier. Importantly, after the prescribing limit and alert went into effect there was no evidence to suggest pain control worsened.
Men Receiving Opioids After Vasectomy at High Risk for Persistent Opioid Use
Routine use of opioids after vasectomy doesn’t improve pain control, but is associated with a substantial rate of persistent opioid use in the months after the procedure, reports a study in the October issue of The Journal of Urology®, Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The Journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.
Kidney Function May Affect Risks Associated with Prescription Opioids
• Compared with other pain medications, prescription opioids were linked with higher risks of death and hospitalization, particularly with higher doses.
• The risk of death associated with opioids was highest among people with lower kidney function.
UIC researchers tackle opioid use among kidney disease patients
The University of Illinois at Chicago has received $2.8 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health to investigate non-opioid pain management strategies for people with kidney disease, which affects about 15% of adults in the U.S. With the funding, UIC will be one of eight clinical centers studying alternative pain management solutions for adults on maintenance dialysis
How to taper off opioid medications safely
Whitney Luke, MD, a board certified pain medicine and addiction medicine specialist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, explains how to properly taper opioid medication.
The “Inflammation” of Opioid Use
New research correlates inflammation in the brain and gut to negative emotional state during opioid withdrawal
WashU Expert: Opioid cases represent tipping point in addiction fight
An Oklahoma judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in the opioid crisis in a historic ruling Aug. 26. A federal case in Ohio involves at least 1,600 lawsuits from cities and counties throughout the country. Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma has offered to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits from states and cities for between $10 billion and $12 billion.
Depression, Anxiety Linked to Opioid Use in Women With Breast Cancer
The findings should encourage doctors to better manage mental health in patients with breast cancer and spur care providers to consider alternative pain management such as physical therapy, massage and acupuncture, the researchers say.
Depression, Anxiety Linked to Opioid Use in Women With Breast Cancer
The findings should encourage doctors to better manage mental health in patients with breast cancer and spur care providers to consider alternative pain management such as physical therapy, massage and acupuncture, the researchers say.