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Evaluating bed-based care for substance use disorder in Canada

Is expanding hospital inpatient, or bed-based, care a way to help address the overdose crisis? An analysis article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) https://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.240955 describes the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance), which can help provinces determine whether bed-cased care is effective.

27 Oct 2025

Updated CPR guidelines provide expanded recommendations for managing choking and opioid overdose

The "2025 American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC)," published today in the Association's flagship journal, Circulation, marks the first full revision of lifesaving resuscitation guidance since 2020.

22 Oct 2025

Global health study warns of rising youth deaths amid declining overall mortality

Global mortality rates are falling but not among youths and young adults, according to the latest Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study published in The Lancet today and presented at the World Health Summit in Berlin.

13 Oct 2025

Fentanyl-stimulant overdose deaths surge among older adults

Overdose deaths in adults age 65 and older from fentanyl mixed with stimulants, such as cocaine and methamphetamines, have surged 9,000% in the past eight years, matching rates found among younger adults, according to research presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY 2025 annual meeting.

12 Oct 2025

Portable sensor can accurately detect synthetic cannabinoids in e-cigarette and biological samples

Even though electronic cigarettes do not contain any illicit substances, the liquid can cause serious health problems.

9 Oct 2025

Tramadol found to offer limited relief for chronic pain while raising risk of serious side effects

The strong opioid painkiller, tramadol, is not that effective at easing chronic pain for which it's widely prescribed, finds a pooled data analysis of the available research, published online in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.

7 Oct 2025

UIC studies reveal rise in lidocaine poisonings despite overall drop in anesthetic deaths

Over the last decade, poisonings and deaths linked to the use of local anesthetics have decreased. Even so, poisonings from one commonly used anesthetic, lidocaine, have increased in the United States, according to two new studies from the University of Illinois Chicago.

6 Oct 2025

Researchers to analyze shorter ADHD treatment lengths among Hispanic and Black patients

The National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has awarded $3.7 million to Indiana University researchers to investigate the complex relationship between ADHD medications and serious substance use problems among vulnerable youth and young adults.

3 Oct 2025

Medicaid unwinding linked to drop in opioid use disorder treatment

The end of pandemic-era enrollment enhancements for Medicaid was associated with a rise in the number of people ending medication treatment for opioid use disorder, as well as a decrease in the number of people beginning such treatment, according to a new RAND study.

29 Sep 2025

Emergency calls for opioid exposures rise among middle-school aged children

Years after the opioid epidemic began in the mid-1990s, emergency medical services are seeing increases in emergency calls for pre-teens and adolescents, according to research presented during the American Academy of Pediatrics 2025 National Conference & Exhibition at the Colorado Convention Center from Sept. 26-30.

26 Sep 2025

Nursing researchers explore new ways to improve the quality of methadone treatment

Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Nursing are testing an intervention to reduce staff stress and improve methadone patient treatment retention for opioid use disorder thanks to a $4.5 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health.

18 Sep 2025

Study reveals unequal burden of the fentanyl epidemic across the United States

A new study illuminates how some areas of the country have been hit much harder than others by the fentanyl epidemic, which took more than 70,800 lives in 2022 alone.

17 Sep 2025

An HIV outbreak in Maine shows the risk of Trump’s crackdown on homelessness and drug use

Penobscot County, Maine, is grappling with the largest HIV outbreak in the state's history. Home to Bangor, a city of roughly 32,000, the county has identified 28 new cases over nearly two years.

16 Sep 2025

Limited uptake of over-the-counter naloxone despite initial surge in sales

Sales of the overdose reversal medication naloxone increased after it was made available to the public without a prescription but then dipped quickly in the period following debut of over-the-counter sales, according to a new RAND study.

16 Sep 2025

Acupuncture improves pain and function in older adults with chronic low back pain

According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), older Americans with chronic low back pain who received acupuncture had greater improvement in physical function and reduced pain than those who received usual medical care only, generally prescribed medications or physical therapy.

13 Sep 2025

Buprenorphine treatment produces greatest health gains and cost savings for mothers and infants

Over the last 20 years, substance use-related deaths have more than doubled for women of reproductive age. Overdose deaths are now a leading cause of maternal mortality in the U.S., and in some states, the leading cause.

11 Sep 2025

Treating opioid use disorder during incarceration improves post-release outcomes

A study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) finds that individuals who received medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) while incarcerated were significantly more likely to continue treatment six months after release than those who did not receive MOUD.

11 Sep 2025

Many patients undergoing surgery for early-stage cancer continue or start opioid prescriptions

New research indicates that many patients who undergo surgery with the intent to cure early-stage cancer continue or start opioid prescriptions in the year following surgery.

8 Sep 2025

He built Michigan’s Medicaid work requirement system. Now he’s warning other states.

It was March 2020, and Robert Gordon was about to kick some 80,000 people off health insurance.

5 Sep 2025

California CA Bridge program expands opioid treatment across most emergency departments

A comprehensive study shows that California's CA Bridge program has successfully implemented opioid use disorder treatment services across more than 80% of the state's emergency departments, reaching over 165,000 patients and providing nearly 45,000 instances of buprenorphine treatment from July 2022 through December 2023 alone.

2 Sep 2025