Opioid

Salix Pharmaceuticals has joined forces with the U.S. Pain Foundation and the International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders to declare December 5 as Opioid-Induced Constipation Awareness Day, according to a company press release.

SAN DIEGO — The likelihood of opioid use among patients with autoimmune rheumatic disease has decreased annually by 15% since 2014, according to data presented at ACR Convergence 2023.

About 1% of women who filled an opioid prescription after childbirth had evidence of persistent opioid use in the subsequent postpartum year, researchers reported in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

One in four adults relied solely on medications to manage chronic pain, highlighting an opportunity to increase use of nonpharmacologic therapies, particularly in men, older adults and those with public insurance, according to researchers.

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have made improvements to hospital care pathways that reduced opioid use by 50% after pancreatic cancer surgery.

Researchers identified multiple predictors of opioid overdose after an opioid prescription for chronic pain in a new study published in CMAJ.

In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, NSAIDs and opioids demonstrate similar risks for major adverse cardiovascular events, while opioids exhibit higher rates of all-cause mortality and venous thromboembolism, according to data.

ORLANDO — The CDC’s updated guidance on prescription opioids in 2022 were a step in the right direction, but nonopioid therapies should take a more “prominent role” in the management of pain, according to a speaker.

For patients with chronic pain, the right treatment could help prevent suicide, according to Kathleen M. Farrell, DO.

A postoperative care bundle that includes an individualized opioid regimen, gabapentin and clonidine as a rescue analgesic may reduce the need for opioid analgesia after major colorectal surgery, according to data in JAMA Network Open.