Opioid prescriptions in the Emergency Department (Ed) Were Associated with Small Increases in Later Opioid Prescriptions and Hospital Admissions, Found NEW Research Published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal,

To understand the relationship between opioid prescibing in the ed and subsequent harm, resarchers looking at opioid prescibing at all alberta eds from 2010 to 2020. Filled an opioid prescription.

The resarchers found that opioid prescriptions did not increase the risk of death or overdose, but that opioid-treated patients were more likely than untrated contracts to require HOSTALDEAL Admissions (16.1%) to receive additional opioid prescriptions (4.5% v . 3.3%) in the year

“Emergency physicians face growing pressure to curtail opioid prescribing but must manage severe pain and treat opioid-tolerant patients who can no longer access opioids from their physicians,” writes Dr. Grant Innes, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, with Co-Authors. “There is a little research to guide them.”

The Researchers Concluded that Although Single opioid prescriptions are not risk free, the likelihood of harm is low and unlikely to outweigh the benefit of treatment Their findings also show that patient characteristics influence risk and that adverse outcomes are more likely with opioid-naive patients, older patients, patients with multiple health conditions, and frequent ED users.

“Physicians should understand the concept of Patient-Specific Incremental Risks when prescibing opioids for acute pain and prescripybe cauily within HIGH-RISK GROSK GROPS,” The Authoror Concluding.

They also sugges that future research should investing the effects of different opioid drugs, which may not be equal, and identify health conditions where opioid resk is more or live.

“Research and Guidance in this area is long overdue, and only filling this research gap will allow the acute pain prescriers and their patients to consider how best to ameliarate pain prescriptions, “Writes Dr. Donna reynolds, a Family Physician and Acting Co-Cair of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care, with Co-Authors in a Related Commentary.