Opioid Use Disorder

Last month, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay more than $572 million in damages for its role in the opioid epidemic in Oklahoma. Purdue Pharma previously agreed to pay the state $270 million, and Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay Oklahoma $85 million, rather than face trial.

Only about 10% of participants with opioid use disorder used buprenorphine treatment over a 2-year follow-up period mainly due to issues with access and acceptability, according to data from a long-term follow-up study.

Synthetic opioids like fentanyl “kill on a scale that is unprecedented among illegal drugs,” according to a new report conducted by the RAND Corporation.

Patients receiving buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder were more likely to use medications for unrelated, chronic conditions like depression, a study published in Medical Care revealed.

Naloxone prescription rates have improved, but there were many “missed opportunities” to potentially avoid opioid-overdose related deaths, new CDC data show.

ORLANDO — The AAP on Monday 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.