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.

Drug overdose continues to be a significant cause of death in Australia

A new report has come up with alarming numbers of deaths due to drug overdose among Australians. The report states that common sedatives and sleeping pills may be responsible for over 142 deaths each month due to their overdose.

27 Aug 2018

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Opioids, epipens and health funding

The Senate is still working, well into August - something it hasn't done in years — and it’s debating the funding bill for the Department of Health and Human Services.

24 Aug 2018

Pitt professor receives NIH grant to test behavioral therapy for chronic pain in HIV patients

Living with HIV often means living with chronic pain, but behavioral therapy could offer an effective alternative to opioids.

21 Aug 2018

Christiana Care Health System successfully reduces opioid prescriptions

Before surgeon Emily Penman, M.D., begins a mastectomy or lumpectomy, her lightly sedated patient receives a nerve block, an injection of medicine to control pain after surgery.

21 Aug 2018

Study may fuel need for effective drug testing in hospital emergency departments

At a time when drug overdoses are becoming more prevalent and lethal, a new report provides a snapshot of regional illicit drug use and, for the first time, highlights the complexity of detecting and treating patients at hospital emergency departments for a severe drug-related event.

21 Aug 2018

New proposal aims to improve drug harm assessment process

A drug policy researcher is proposing a suite of changes to overhaul the Multi-Criteria Drug Harm Scale, which informs drug policies across Europe.

20 Aug 2018

Yale researchers identify racial disparities in prescribing opioids for chronic pain

Yale researchers have identified racial disparities in the treatment of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain.

20 Aug 2018

Unique pain program helps surgical patients wean off opioids safely and effectively

A unique pain program is helping complex surgical patients wean off opioids safely and effectively, while offering alternative ways to cope with their pain and improve how they function.

20 Aug 2018

Illicit drug use is higher during celebratory events, may be worse than previously thought

America's drug problem may be even worse than officials realize. And illicit drugs are consumed at a higher rate during celebratory events. Those are just two of the conclusions scientists have drawn from recent studies of drug residues in sewage.

20 Aug 2018

Babies dependent on opioids need touch, not tech

Dr. Jodi Jackson has worked for years to address infant mortality in Kansas. Often, that means she treats newborns in a high-tech neonatal intensive care unit with sophisticated equipment whirring and beeping. And that is exactly the wrong place for an infant like Lili.

20 Aug 2018

New statewide program in North Dakota aims to stem opioid misuse

Preliminary estimates released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a nearly 7 percent increase in drug overdoses in 2017, with more than 72,000 deaths. Of the total deaths, almost 68 percent of them were tied to opioid use. A new statewide program in North Dakota called ONE Rx aims to stem opioid misuse by increasing awareness when patients first fill an opioid prescription.

17 Aug 2018

ACA's Medicaid expansion associated with increase in prescriptions for opioid use disorder treatment

Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was associated with an overall increase in people filling prescriptions for buprenorphine with naloxone, which is a treatment for opioid use disorder, as well as an increase in people filling prescriptions for opioid pain relievers (OPRs) paid for by Medicaid in a data analysis from five states.

17 Aug 2018

Federal advisory group publishes recommendations on prevention of acute, chronic pain

A University of Texas at Arlington professor led a federal advisory group that has published its recommendations on the prevention of acute and chronic pain to the Federal Research Pain Strategy, an interagency committee that oversees the government's long-term strategic plan to support pain research.

17 Aug 2018

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ See you in court!

A federal district court judge in Texas has set Sept. 10 as the date for oral arguments in a case filed by Republican state attorneys general and governors from 20 states.

17 Aug 2018

Clinical study shows how EarlySense system effectively detects opioid-induced respiratory depression

EarlySense, the market leader in contact-free continuous monitoring solutions across the care continuum, today announced that its system has been found to detect and alert for respiratory depression with high positive predictive value, according to a clinical poster presented at the 2018 American Thoracic Society Conference.

15 Aug 2018

Johns Hopkins expert panel develops first set of operation-specific opioid prescribing guidelines

A Johns Hopkins expert panel of health care providers and patients have announced what is, to their knowledge, the nation's first set of operation-specific opioid prescribing guidelines.

14 Aug 2018

Using peripheral nerve blocks to treat facial pain may produce long-term pain relief

A new study has shown that use of peripheral nerve blocks in the treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia may produce long-term pain relief.

14 Aug 2018

College students may experience pressures from secondary exposure to opioid abuse

About one in five college students reported in a survey that they knew someone who was addicted to pain medications, and nearly a third said they knew somebody who overdosed on painkillers or heroin, according to a team of undergraduate Penn State Lehigh Valley researchers.

13 Aug 2018

Clinicians who learn of a patient’s opioid death modestly cut back on prescriptions

Physicians and other medical providers modestly reduced the volume of opioids they prescribed after being told one of their patients had died of an overdose, according to research published Thursday.

10 Aug 2018

Physicians who come to know about overdose deaths reduce opioid prescription

Will clinicians become more careful in prescribing opioids if they are made of aware of the risks of these drugs first-hand?

10 Aug 2018

Opioids News and Research

Further Reading

Drug overdose continues to be a significant cause of death in Australia

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ Opioids, epipens and health funding

Pitt professor receives NIH grant to test behavioral therapy for chronic pain in HIV patients

Christiana Care Health System successfully reduces opioid prescriptions

Study may fuel need for effective drug testing in hospital emergency departments

New proposal aims to improve drug harm assessment process

Yale researchers identify racial disparities in prescribing opioids for chronic pain

Unique pain program helps surgical patients wean off opioids safely and effectively

Illicit drug use is higher during celebratory events, may be worse than previously thought

Babies dependent on opioids need touch, not tech

New statewide program in North Dakota aims to stem opioid misuse

ACA's Medicaid expansion associated with increase in prescriptions for opioid use disorder treatment

Federal advisory group publishes recommendations on prevention of acute, chronic pain

Podcast: KHN’s ‘What the Health?’ See you in court!

Clinical study shows how EarlySense system effectively detects opioid-induced respiratory depression

Johns Hopkins expert panel develops first set of operation-specific opioid prescribing guidelines

Using peripheral nerve blocks to treat facial pain may produce long-term pain relief

College students may experience pressures from secondary exposure to opioid abuse

Clinicians who learn of a patient’s opioid death modestly cut back on prescriptions

Physicians who come to know about overdose deaths reduce opioid prescription

Achieving and maintaining ISO 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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