The more educated a member of the baby boomer generation, the more likely they are to misuse prescription opioids, according to new research from the University at Buffalo.
Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting an estimated 540 million people at any one time. Yet, a new Series of papers in The Lancet highlights the extent to which the condition is mistreated, often against best practice treatment guidelines.
Patients who have been taking opioid pain relievers for several months before spinal fusion surgery are at increased risk of complications after their surgery, reports a study in the journal Spine, published by Wolters Kluwer.
WASHINGTON -- Following is the statement of Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, CEO of the American Psychological Association, regarding President Trump’s plan to address the opioid epidemic:
Scientists don’t yet grasp the intricacies of the relationship between sepsis and dementia. Candice Brown, an assistant professor in West Virginia University’s School of Medicine and Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, is studying that relationship in order to bring about insights that help prevent or mitigate the neurological impact of sepsis.
The Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center at Cincinnati Children's is seeing an increasing number of calls regarding drug overdoses as the nation copes with the opioid epidemic.
Opioid addicts and others battling compulsion around drugs or alcohol are using a new high-tech, low-risk method to practice saying no—through virtual reality.
Drug overdoses are taking a huge toll on public health, with potent synthetic drugs posing a particular threat. Medical professionals are scrambling to meet the growing demand for emergency room treatment, but they’re hampered by the lack of a quick and easy test to screen patients for these “designer” drugs.
Two landmark developments in medicine pave the way for quality medical care to address America’s largest and most costly preventable health problem – unhealthy substance use and addiction involving all addictive substances. These changes are designed to increase the number of addiction medicine physician specialists who can provide direct patient care and consultation, teach other providers and thereby drive knowledge across health care, and help policymakers and the public understand and effectively respond to our current health crisis.
Unique partnership between health system and county in Delaware will help individuals receive addiction treatment and support after they are released from the emergency department following treatment from an opioid overdose.
As the opioid epidemic continues to spread across the country, Texas is taking some important steps in the battle, from improved monitoring of prescription painkillers to expanded programs to treat addiction.
Dr. Michelle Lofwall was among the experts tapped to assist in the development of guidelines regarding the use of medication in the treatment of opioid use disorder.
The number of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions for opioid overdoses doubled between 2004 and 2015, despite continuing efforts to curb misuse of the addictive painkillers among adults, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine published in the journal Pediatrics.
Children and adolescents undergoing surgery can be swept up in the ongoing opioid epidemic, according to a review and update in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics, official journal of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA). The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.
As leaders in pain medicine and patient safety, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has proposed several ways for Congress to address the ongoing opioid abuse epidemic through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) programs. In response to a request by the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, ASA put forth several recommendations for combatting opioid abuse, including increased funding for research, coverage for non-opioid alternatives, including interventional therapies for chronic pain, and Congressional support for public-private education initiatives aimed at improving practices in the perioperative setting and encouraging opioid sparing techniques.
John Gleaves, who conducts research on doping in sports, comments on the Russian Federation's ban from the 2018 Winter Games and the involvement of government officials in doping.
Officials from five states including Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas gathered at UT Southwestern Medical Center today for a regional summit with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to address the nation’s $78 billion opioid crisis.
Bacteria can produce enzymes that make them resistant to antibiotics; one example is the TEM beta-lactamase enzyme, which enables bacteria to develop a resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, such as penicillin and cephalosporins. Researchers at Stanford University are studying this area -- how an enzyme changes and becomes antibiotic-resistant -- and will present their work during the Biophysical Society’s 62nd Meeting, held Feb. 17-21, 2018.
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The study included completion of an online survey by 27 physicians, who reported working in 15 of 26 provincial correctional facilities for adults in Ontario. This included 10 of the 13 facilities with a population of more than 200.
The study identified that about half of the physicians prescribed methadone and half prescribed buprenorphine/naloxone to treat opioid dependence.
In the setting of acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), opioid administration is standard care for pain management. However, animal models of SCI have shown that opioid use in the early phase of SCI is deleterious to future quality of life (QOL), notably pain and motor function (Woller et al.). This study focuses on opioid use in the first few days to weeks following human SCI as it relates to QOL outcomes 1-year post-treatment.
A bill introduced last week in the House of Representatives and supported by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) would expand access to chiropractic services to military retirees, dependents and survivors through the Department of Defense TRICARE health program.
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have achieved a major milestone toward designing a safe and effective vaccine to both treat heroin addiction and block lethal overdose of the drug.
Opioid users have a significantly increased risk of infections severe enough to require treatment at the hospital, such as pneumonia and meningitis, as compared to people who don’t use opioids.
Opioid users have a significantly increased risk of infections severe enough to require treatment at the hospital, such as pneumonia and meningitis, as compared to people who don’t use opioids.
A study to assess the feasibility of checking illicit street drugs for fentanyl found that low-cost test strips detect the presence of fentanyl with a high degree of accuracy, and that the vast majority of people who use street drugs are interested in using drug checking to help prevent overdoses.
In just two years, the powerful opioid fentanyl went from nonexistent to detected in more than 1 in 7 stamp bags analyzed by the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner.
More than 1,900 officers from 30 police departments will soon be equipped to administer Narcan® when they encounter someone overdosing from opioids, thanks to a collaboration between Loyola Medicine and the Cook County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
A case report by a West Virginia University neuropsychologist suggests a new reason fentanyl-alone, or in combination with stimulants-may put substance users at risk, whether they take it knowingly or not. It may cause amnesia.
While the use of opioids after surgery is intended as a short-term strategy to relieve pain, many patients who weren’t prior opioid users continue to take the medication for several months after their lung operations, becoming dependent and “persistent opioid users."
An Oscar nomination won't entice Elaine McMillion Sheldon and her husband, Kerrin, away from their passion: telling the stories of their home state of West Virginia in hopes of bringing attention, and solutions, to its problems - especially opioid addiction.
West Virginia University doctoral candidate Joshua Gross is investigating how a particular protein influences the brain's response to cocaine and psychostimulants with abuse potential, including methamphetamine, Adderall and Ritalin.
In a six-month study recently concluded, a research unit affiliated with two hospital institutions and a university in Ottawa found that a reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked daily also reduced a smoker’s dependence on opioids.
Several health organizations, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, have recommended dose reduction and risk mitigation strategies to reduce adverse events for patients on chronic opioid therapy. A new study published in The Journal of Pain reports that patients with chronic pain treated in centers with opioid-dose reduction policies show no clinically meaningful differences in pain intensity, interference with daily activities, enjoyment of life, or depressive symptoms. The Journal of Pain is published by the American Pain Society, www.americanpainsociety.org.
It’s a given that surgery is painful and may leave you sore and uncomfortable for a few days, whether you’re recovering at home or in the hospital. But it’s best to limit opioids or avoid them altogether, opting for alternatives to manage pain and discomfort, recommends the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).
With opioid overdoses now a leading cause of nonintentional death in the United States, data show most of these deaths can be traced back to an initial prescription opioid. A new study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) sheds light on the possible link between physicians’ opioid prescription patterns and subsequent abuse.
For patients who have never been prescribed opioids, larger numbers of tablets given with the initial prescription is associated with long-term use and more tablets leftover that could be diverted for misuse or abuse. Implementing a default option for a lower quantity of tablets in the electronic medical records (EMR) discharge orders may help combat the issue by “nudging” physicians to prescribe smaller quantities consistent with prescribing guidelines Penn Medicine researchers show in a new study published this week in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced that resources related to opioid prescribing and telemedicine are currently the most important regulatory issues to state medical boards. The announcement comes after analyzing responses from 51 state medical boards as part of the FSMB’s 2017 annual survey to its member boards.
WASHINGTON – AACC has issued a new guideline detailing how healthcare providers can use laboratory tests to manage treatment of pain and prevent prescription drug overdoses. Especially relevant in light of the worsening opioid epidemic, the guideline emphasizes increased collaboration between clinicians and laboratory experts as well as the use of more precise drug tests as key to identifying pain patients who are abusing their opioid prescriptions.
Mount Sinai researchers have identified a protein produced by the immune system—granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)—that could be responsible for the development of cocaine addiction.
Teens whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy are more likely to have aggression and attention problems—known predictors of later drug use and sexual risk-taking.
With a new three-year, $840,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers at Case Western Reserve University now hope to learn how and when these issues may develop differently in boys and girls—and how best to address behavioral problems caused directly and indirectly by in utero cocaine exposure.
Michael A. Kelly, M.D., chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine and chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center, was a featured presenter at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Diversion Control Division, 23rd National Conference on Pharmaceutical and Chemical Diversion
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the suicide rate in the United States increased by 34 percent between 2000 and 2016. While that rate seems high, a team of researchers led by a West Virginia University faculty member believes it is seriously underestimated.
Alcohol, marijuana, and ecstasy each have very different sexual effects, from attraction and desire to sensitivity to sexual dysfunction, finds a study by the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research (CDUHR) at NYU Meyers College of Nursing.