Buprenorphine for Chronic Pain, Not Full Agonist Opioids, New VA Guidance Says
Buprenorphine, rather than a full agonist opioid, should be used for patients taking daily opioids for chronic pain, given its lower risk for overdose or misuse, new guidelines from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DoD) recommended. But “the guideline development group does not recommend use of opioid analgesics in the […]
Oral Drug Shows Benefit for Notalgia Paresthetica in Mid-Stage Trial
A selective kappa opioid receptor agonist in patients with notalgia paresthetica led to “modestly” greater improvements in itchiness over placebo, but was associated with adverse events, a randomized phase II trial showed. At 8 weeks, improvements in average itchiness was significantly greater with oral difelikefalin (Korsuva) versus placebo on the Worst Itch Numeric Rating Scale […]
COVID-19 Tied to Doubled Risk of Endocarditis in Substance Use Disorder Patients
Patients with cocaine or opioid use disorder (OUD) had a higher risk of endocarditis if they also contracted COVID-19, a retrospective study showed. COVID-19 infection was associated with an increased risk of newly diagnosed cases of endocarditis among patients with opioid use disorder (HR 2.23, 95% CI 1.92-2.60) and with cocaine use disorder (HR 2.24, […]
Many Who Need Opioid OD Antidote the Most Can’t Afford It
Latest Mental Health News MONDAY, Aug. 22, 2022 (HealthDay News) Naloxone is a lifesaving antidote to an opioid overdose, but it may be priced too high for those most vulnerable to opioid-related death, a new study finds. Between 2014 and 2018, naloxone costs rose 500% for those without insurance, while out-of-pocket costs for the medication […]
U.S. Opioid Prescriptions Are Declining
Latest Mental Health News THURSDAY, Aug. 11, 2022 (HealthDay News) The United States has an opioid epidemic, but there’s one bright spot in the fight against it: Prescriptions for these addictive drugs have declined for patients with private insurance. Amid guidelines over the past decade from governments, health systems and insurers aimed at reducing opioid […]
Wave of Opioid Overdoses Expected to Hit U.S. Rural, Urban Areas
Latest Mental Health News FRIDAY, July 29, 2022 (HealthDay News) Experts predict opioid overdoses will climb in both rural and urban areas because of the lethal practice of mixing the highly addictive narcotics with other drugs. The coming wave of opioid overdoses “will be worse than ever seen before,” said researchers from Northwestern Medicine in […]
Does Prenatal Opioid Analgesic Exposure Affect Kids’ Scholastic Outcomes?
Prenatal exposure to opioid analgesics had no substantial impact on the scholastic skills of children by the time they reached fifth grade, findings from a nationwide Norwegian birth cohort suggested. Compared to children of mothers whose only exposures to opioids were prior to pregnancy, children exposed in the first trimester and those exposed in two […]
Opioid Use Disorder Training in Med School Improves Awareness of Patient Needs
NEW ORLEANS — Adding opioid use disorder (OUD) training to the third-year medical school curriculum improved students’ understanding on how to manage these patients, according to a study presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting. Third-year students’ knowledge of OUD treatments significantly increased from a pre-training assessment (mean score 18.34/23) to a post-training assessment […]
Opinion | ‘Shocking Mismanagement’ in Our Organ Donation System Is Causing Needless Death
One of America’s greatest tragedies — the still-worsening opioid epidemic — is obscuring another: Abject failures in our national organ donation system. Even worse, opponents of major reforms in our organ donation system are exploiting this tragedy as they attempt to block long-overdue Congressional action. The magnitude of the opioid crisis shows no signs of […]
Cannabis Linked to Less Opioid Use in Back Pain, Osteoarthritis
Medical cannabis can greatly reduce or eliminate the need for opioid painkillers in patients with chronic back pain and osteoarthritis, a pair of studies found. The studies, reported at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting and published in Cureus, are limited since they don’t include control groups and can’t […]