Amid rising use, first pediatric guidelines for prescribing opioids were published in 2024
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Two major policy updates were published in 2024 regarding opioids and children.
In June, researchers published expert guidance for the care of opioid-exposed infants, including recommendations that pregnant patients be screened for substance use disorder and hospital staff be trained on neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.
In September, the AAP released its first clinical guidance for prescribing opioids to children, which encouraged prescribing opioids when safe and necessary, but not as monotherapy. The AAP also recommended prescribing naloxone with every opioid prescription and teaching patients and their families how to use it.
“In the face of what has been a couple of decades of rising rates of opioid overdose and opioid addiction, including among young people, pediatricians have really ratcheted back on their opioid prescribing,” Scott E. Hadland, MD, MPH, MS, FAAP, chief of adolescent and young adult medicine at Mass General for Children and Harvard Medical School in Boston, told Healio. “The key takeaways from this guidance are really aimed at correcting that overcorrection.”
Read Healio’s coverage on youth opioid use and infant care from 2024 below.
AAP releases first clinical guidance for prescribing opioids to children
The AAP released its first clinical guidance for prescribing opioids to children, which supports prescribing opioids when necessary and safe — although not as monotherapy and not without also providing naloxone. Read more.
Q&A: US experiencing ‘very concerning’ rise in overdose deaths among adolescents
Overdose deaths among high school-aged adolescents in the United States more than doubled between 2019 and 2020, researchers reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read more.
Naloxone prescriptions for youth increase more than 600%
Naloxone prescriptions among youth rose more than 600% from 2017 to 2022, according to findings published in Pediatrics. Read more.
Study: Naloxone access laws have not reduced youth opioid deaths
Although state laws have expanded access to naloxone, overdose deaths among adolescents and young adults continue to climb, according to data published in JAMA Pediatrics. Read more.
Q&A: ‘No reason’ buprenorphine should not be offered in pediatric EDs
A case report summarized the successful initiation of buprenorphine treatment in two adolescents who presented to a pediatric ED with opioid withdrawal. Read more.
Panel comes to consensus on hospital care for opioid-exposed infants
Noting that practice varies widely across hospitals, an expert panel came to a consensus on the first quality indicators for the care of opioid-exposed infants. Read more.
NICU, pharmacologic use for opioid-exposed neonates declined post-AAP guidelines
Pharmacologic treatment and NICU use declined for infants exposed to opioids in the womb following the publication of related guidelines from the AAP, according to a study published in Pediatrics. Read more.
‘Eat, sleep, console’ improves outcomes for opioid-affected neonates
The Eat, Sleep, Console approach — which prioritizes nonpharmacologic care — improved outcomes among infants treated for opioid withdrawal syndrome, according to study results published in JAMA Pediatrics. Read more.
Survey: Pediatricians feel unprepared to address opioid use disorder
Less than half of pediatricians who responded to a survey said they felt prepared to counsel patients on opioid use disorder, researchers reported. Read more.
VIDEO: Educating practitioners about naloxone benefits patients
Preliminary results of a project to educate practitioners about naloxone use showed it improved their knowledge of the opioid antagonist and significantly increased naloxone distribution to patients at a Los Angeles clinic. Read more.
Q&A: How pediatricians can counsel patients and parents on overdose prevention
Two pediatric addiction medical specialists and a mother who lost her daughter to fentanyl poisoning collaborated to write anticipatory guidance that may help pediatricians counsel patients and families on overdose prevention strategies. Read more.
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Healio coverage
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