Opioids News and Research

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An opioid is a chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these two organ systems mediate both the beneficial effects and the side effects of opioids.

USDA grant awarded to MU researchers to reduce opioid overdoses and suicides in Rural Missouri

Childhood trauma is a key risk factor for future substance use disorder, overdose, and suicide. This is particularly problematic in rural areas where children experience higher rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

27 Oct 2023

KFF Health News' 'What the Health?': The new speaker’s (limited) record on health

After nearly a month of bickering, House Republicans finally elected a new speaker: Louisiana Republican Rep. Mike Johnson, a relative unknown to many.

26 Oct 2023

Study identifies predictors of opioid overdose after prescription for chronic pain

A large study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.230459 identified 10 predictors of opioid overdose after prescription for chronic pain, which can help clinicians engage in shared decision-making with patients around opioid prescribing.

24 Oct 2023

Using opioid settlement cash for police gear like squad cars and scanners sparks debate

Policing expenses mount quickly: $25,000 for a law enforcement conference about fentanyl in Colorado; $18,000 for technology to unlock cellphones in Southington, Connecticut; $2,900 for surveillance cameras and to train officers and canines in New Lexington, Ohio. And in other communities around the country, hundreds of thousands for vehicles, body scanners, and other equipment.

23 Oct 2023

Feds try to head off growing problem of overdoses among expectant mothers

When Andria Peterson began working as a clinical pharmacist in the pediatric and neonatal intensive care units at St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, in 2009, she witnessed the devastating effects the opioid crisis had on the hospital's youngest patients.

19 Oct 2023

Telehealth may improve access and retention for opioid use disorder treatment

Starting buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder through telehealth was associated with an increased likelihood of staying in treatment longer compared to starting treatment in a non-telehealth setting, according to a new study analyzing Medicaid data from 2019-2020 in Kentucky and Ohio.

18 Oct 2023

Pregnant and addicted: Homeless women see hope in street medicine

Five days after giving birth, Melissa Crespo was already back on the streets, recovering in a damp, litter-strewn water tunnel, when she got the call from the hospital.

18 Oct 2023

For people with sickle cell disease, ERs can mean life-threatening waits

Heather Avant always dresses up when she goes to the emergency room.

17 Oct 2023

Opioid use disorder treatment lowers risk of overdose after surgery, study finds

Although people with opioid use disorder (OUD) are significantly more likely to overdose or have a complication after major surgery than those without the disorder, using medications for the treatment of OUD before surgery may eliminate that extra risk, suggests a large, first-of-its-kind study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2023 annual meeting.

15 Oct 2023

Opioid prescribing limits may not worsen patient experience after common surgeries

Worries that surgery patients would have a tougher recovery if their doctors had to abide by a five-day limit on opioid pain medication prescriptions didn't play out as expected, a new study finds.

13 Oct 2023

Researchers call for urgent improvement in pain management for inflammatory arthritis patients

Researchers from Keele University's School of Medicine have found that analgesic medicines - commonly known as "painkillers" - are widely prescribed to people with inflammatory arthritis across England despite little research evidence that they improve pain for these patients, and studies showing they can cause serious side-effects.

12 Oct 2023

Severe maternal morbidity, opioid use, and prior hospital care linked to pregnancy-associated deaths

The majority of research and public discourse on US maternal mortality focuses on pregnancy-related maternal deaths-;deaths caused or accelerated by a pregnancy-;rather than the broader category of pregnancy-associated maternal deaths, which are deaths from any cause during pregnancy or up to one year postpartum, including those that are pregnancy-related.

11 Oct 2023

New analysis looks at rates of opioid prescribing to US adolescents

A new analysis reveals that rates of opioid prescribing to US adolescents have decreased in recent years, primarily limited to non-surgery indications. Opioid prescription rates for surgery have remained stable.

5 Oct 2023

More schools stock overdose reversal meds, but others worry about stigma

Last year, a student fell unconscious after walking out of a bathroom at Central High School in Pueblo, Colorado.

3 Oct 2023

Virtual reality vs. opioids: clinical trial of non-pharmacological pain management during burn wound care

Researchers assessed the feasibility and efficacy of virtual reality as a non-pharmaceutical intervention for managing procedural pain in adult burn patients during dressing changes compared to standard opioid-based approaches.

28 Sep 2023

Hotter days in New York linked to spike in substance abuse hospital visits

New study finds a positive correlation between rising temperatures and increased hospital visits for alcohol and substance-related disorders in New York State. The research suggests that climate change could exacerbate negative outcomes related to substance abuse.

27 Sep 2023

Rising temperatures could increase hospital visits from alcohol- and substance-related disorders

Hospital visits from alcohol- and substance-related disorders are driven by elevated temperatures and could be further affected by rising temperatures due to climate change, according to new research by environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

26 Sep 2023

Study: Most patients prescribed fewer opioids after surgery satisfied with pain control

In a recent Mayo Clinic study, researchers found that most patients prescribed fewer opioids after surgery were able to maintain satisfactory comfort levels without requiring more prescription refills later.

25 Sep 2023

Officials agree: Use settlement funds to curb youth addiction. But the ‘how’ gets hairy.

When three teenagers died of fentanyl overdoses last year in Larimer County, Colorado, it shocked the community and “flipped families upside down,” said Tom Gonzales, the county’s public health director.