Managing Acute Pain in the Hospital in the Face of the Opioid Crisis
Authors: Lianping Ti, Seonaid Nolan
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters7 May 2019Managing Acute Pain in the Hospital in the Face of the Opioid CrisisLianping Ti, PhD and Seonaid Nolan, MDLianping Ti, PhDBritish Columbia Centre on Substance Use and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (L.T., S.N.)Search for more papers by this author and Seonaid Nolan, MDBritish Columbia Centre on Substance Use and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (L.T., S.N.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L19-0051 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read Herzig's commentary (1) with interest. Hospitals are often overlooked as a setting that substantially contributes to North America's current opioid epidemic. Given the high prevalence of acute pain in hospitals, opioid prescribing in this setting is reportedly high. Furthermore, hospitals where frequent opioid prescribing has been identified have had increased rates of severe opioid-related adverse drug events (2, 3). Inappropriate opioid prescribing practices in acute care settings have also been associated with adverse effects in the community after discharge, including opioid-induced hyperalgesia, addiction, and overdose (2, 4). Despite the well-documented association between inappropriate opioid prescribing ...References1. Herzig SJ. Web exclusive. Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes — Managing acute pain in the hospital in the face of the opioid crisis. Ann Intern Med. 2018;169:HO2-3. [PMID: 30242421]. doi:10.7326/M18-2295 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Jenkins BG, Tuffin PH, Choo CL, Schug SA. Opioid prescribing: an assessment using quality statements. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2005;30:597-602. [PMID: 16336293] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Oderda GM, Said Q, Evans RS, Stoddard GJ, Lloyd J, Jackson K, et al. Opioid-related adverse drug events in surgical hospitalizations: impact on costs and length of stay. Ann Pharmacother. 2007;41:400-6. [PMID: 17341537] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Zacny J, Bigelow G, Compton P, Foley K, Iguchi M, Sannerud C. College on Problems of Drug Dependence Taskforce on Prescription Opioid Non-medical Use and Abuse: position statement. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2003;69:215-32. [PMID: 12633908] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Ivers N, Jamtvedt G, Flottorp S, Young JM, Odgaard-Jensen J, French SD, et al. Audit and feedback: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012:CD000259. [PMID: 22696318] doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000259.pub3 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: British Columbia Centre on Substance Use and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (L.T., S.N.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L19-0051. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAnnals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Managing Acute Pain in the Hospital in the Face of the Opioid Crisis Shoshana J. Herzig Managing Acute Pain in the Hospital in the Face of the Opioid Crisis Shoshana J. Herzig Metrics Cited byDevelopment and pilot evaluation of an educational session to support sparing opioid prescriptions to opioid naïve patients in a Canadian primary care setting 7 May 2019Volume 170, Issue 9Page: 665-666KeywordsAdverse reactionsAntimicrobialsBehaviorConflicts of interestDisclosureHealth careHospitalistsOpioid addictionOpioidsPrevention, policy, and public health ePublished: 7 May 2019 Issue Published: 7 May 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...