| Article
Findings from new research conducted at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center conclude that long-term opioid therapy is associated with an increased risk of complications following spinal surgery. Lead author Safdar Kahn, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Wexner Medical Center’s...
| Article
In a step to address the dearth of clinical research on opioid therapy for chronic pain, a new long-term study finds no advantages to opioid medications over nonopioids for the management of pain from hip or knee osteoarthritis or chronic back pain. Lead author Erin Krebs, MD, MPH, with the...
| Podcast
Per the department of Health and Human Services, opioid related overdose deaths have increased almost 400% over the last 18 years. This shift has yielded heightened scrutiny of prescribing practices, and opioids have subsequently fallen out of favor as a first-line treatment for chronic pain. In...
| Article
Although human trials of a new compound developed by Eli Lily and Co. for the treatment of osteoarthritis failed to demonstrate efficacy, the drug may still have substantial utility in the pain management armamentarium. Findings from a study conducted by researchers from Indiana University suggest...
| Podcast
Although opioids remain an important tool in aiding the management of pain in the United States, the balance between the potential benefits and harms must be considered. Some specific harms are manifested in the abuse of opioids for nonmedical purposes. The primary access to prescribable opioids for...
| Article
A new study from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reports that opioid users are at greater risk for serious infections including pneumonia and meningitis vs individuals who do not use opioid medications. The risk for invasive pneumococcal diseases was found to be 1.62 times higher among the...
| Video
Naloxone received FDA approval for the treatment of opioid overdose in 1971. Only recently has its use at the community level become more commonplace. Dr. Zacharoff looks at naloxone's role in improving the safety and efficacy of opioid analgesics, and in arresting the surge in unintended opioid...
| Video
With opioids in the penalty box, and no new molecule on the horizon, what is "plan B" for primary care in the treatment of chronic pain? Dr. Stacey offers perspective, as a pain practitioner.
| Video
Patients with chronic pain and substance use disorders often have accompanying psychiatric and medical disorders that place them at elevated risk for suicide. Dr. Cheatle, a professor of psychiatry, discusses the epidemiology of suicidal ideation in this population and offers some guidance in...
| Video
Dr. Pryzbylkowski reviews some alternatives to opioids for pain management at different points in the surgical spectrum that can promote improved patient outcomes and mitigate the risk of adverse effects from long term opioids.