Narcotic Analgesics
Adults Using Benzodiazepines More Likely to Receive Opioid Rx
Increase in new opioid prescriptions for U.S. adults using benzodiazepines stopped in 2010
Study Finds 31% Use No Opioids After Surgery
Most patients (90.2%) were satisfied with their post-discharge pain control. More than one-quarter (28.2%) reported being prescribed too many opioids, while 8.3% reported not being prescribed enough. Remaining opioids were disposed of by only 7.5% of patients.
First Opioid Lawsuit Targeting Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Allegations are likely to be that PBMs allowed a greater amount of opioids to be permitted in communities than could be supported based on the legitimate medical needs of the community.
Opioids Tied to Adverse Outcomes in Hemodialysis Patients
There was a correlation for opioid use with risk for all outcomes in a dose-dependent manner: altered mental status, fall, and fracture.
Small Link for Cannabis Use, Reduced Cognitive Functioning
Data were reviewed from 69 studies of 2,152 cannabis users (mean age, 20.6 years) and 6,575 comparison participants (mean age, 20.8 years) with minimal cannabis exposure.
Opiate Use Linked to Early Mortality in IBD Patients
Heavy use in Crohn's, heavy or moderate use in ulcerative colitis tied to increased risk of death
Polypharmacy More Likely for Cancer Survivors
"Cancer survivors were prescribed a higher number of unique medications, including drugs with abuse potential, thereby increasing their risk of adverse drug events, financial toxicity, poor adherence, and drug-drug interactions," the authors write.
Opioid Packaging Often Lacks Info on Safe Storage, Disposal
Most inserts with messages on safe disposal were for oxycodone and morphine products. None of the inserts for tramadol products and only one of 33 inserts for hydrocodone products had messages on storage or disposal.
Higher Education, Depression, Pain Factors Associated With Opioid Misuse
However, only education, illicit drug use, depression, and pain interference with normal work were significant predictors of misuse.
Intentional Poisoning as a Method for Obtaining Opioid Medications
According to the authors, this report represents the first case of recurrent fallacious lactatemia secondary to EG poisoning in the setting of drug-seeking behavior.
FDA: Social Media Companies Aren't Doing Enough to Stop Illegal Opioid Sales
A recent report from the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations detailed how subcommittee members found it 'easy' to find fentanyl, pay for it and have it shipped to anywhere in the U.S.
Surgeon General Issues Advisory on Importance of Naloxone
In a statement released today, Surgeon General, Jerome M. Adams, MD, MPH, said, "It is time to make sure more people have access to this lifesaving medication, because 77 percent of opioid overdose deaths occur outside of a medical setting and more than half occur at home."
Poll: Older Adults Support Medical Marijuana Use if Recommended by Clinician
A total of 48% of respondents felt that prescription pain medication is more effective than marijuana compared to 14% who considered marijuana to be more effective. Thirty-eight percent considered both to have the same effectiveness.
Marijuana Legalization May Reduce Opioid Use
The researchers found that there was a 5.88% lower rate of opioid prescribing seen in association with state implementation of medical marijuana laws.
Pre-Op Chronic Opioid Use Ups Poor Outcomes Post Spinal Fusion
The researchers found that 22.3% of patients had documented opioid use for more than 6 months before surgery, and 87.4% of these had continued long-term use postoperatively.
Scale of Online Marketplace for Marijuana Increasing
From 2005 to 2017, the subset of marijuana searches on Google indicative of shopping increased 199%: During June 2017 there were 1.4 to 2.4 million marijuana shopping searches.
Pharmacists Have Responsibility to Check Opioid Rx Are Legitimate
In order to protect their license, a pharmacist should consider asking for the diagnosis from the doctor's office, and documenting it for chronic opioid prescriptions, as well as asking the patient for their diagnosis and documenting it.
Hydrocodone, Oxycodone Linked to Majority of Serious Opioid Adverse Event Cases
The 7 opioids included for analysis were oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, tapentadol, and tramadol.
Lofexidine Gets FDA Committee Nod for Opioid Withdrawal
If approved, Lucemyra will be the first non-opioid medication indicated to mitigate opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Provider Self-Perception of Opioid Prescribing Often Inaccurate, Says Study
Results showed that 65% of those in the intervention group underestimated their opioid prescribing.
Pernix Announces Availability of Zohydro ER 20mg Dosage Strength
Zohydro ER is also available in 10mg, 15mg, 30mg, 40mg, and 50mg dosage strengths.
Geographic, Social Variances Tied to Higher Drug-Related Mortality
Monnat found that over the study period the average county-level age-adjusted drug-related mortality rate was 16.6 deaths per 100,000 population. However, there were substantial geographic disparities in rates.
Many Patients Receive Inappropriate Tests, Treatments for Low Back Pain
More emphasis should be placed on self-management, physical and psychological therapies for treating low back pain, rather than pharmacological or surgical treatments.
Teens With Mental Health Conditions More Likely to Receive Opioids Long-Term
Teens with pre-existing mental health conditions, tx more likely to transition to long-term opioid use
Opioid Rx Patterns Examined for Head and Neck, Lung and Colon Cancer
The researchers identified 168 prescriptions associated with HNCA and 571 with LCCA diagnoses. Compared to patients with LCCA, patients with HNCA had significantly increased odds of being prescribed an opioid (odds ratio, 1.68).
CDC: Increases in Opioid-Involved Overdoses in All Five U.S. Regions
Per quarter, this rate increased on average by 5.6%. Increases were seen in rates across demographic groups and all 5 U.S. regions; the largest increases were seen in the Southwest, Midwest, and West (about 7 to 11% per quarter).
Year-Long Study Assesses Opioid vs. Non-Opioid Tx for Back, Osteoarthritis Pain
The researchers observed no significant difference between the groups in pain-related function over 12 months (overall P=0.58); the mean 12-month Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) interference was 3.4 and 3.3 for the opioid and non-opioid groups, respectively.
Efforts to Reduce Adult Opioid Use Have Not Slowed Pediatric Ingestion
The researchers found that there were 3,647 opioid-related hospitalizations in 31 hospitals, of which 42.9% required PICU care. Overall mortality was 1.6%, with annual deaths decreasing from 2.8 to 1.3% over the study period (P<0.001).
Certain Factors May Increase the Likelihood of Gabapentin Overuse
The likelihood of gabapentin overuse alone is low but increased significantly with concomitant opioid use.
Sublocade Now Available for Moderate-to-Severe Opioid Use Disorder
Sublocade is intended for use as part of a complete treatment program that includes counseling and psychosocial support.