(Reuters Health)—The risk that surgery patients will become chronic opioid users may be similar after minor procedures or major operations, a U.S. study suggests. Three to six months after surgery, new chronic opioid use was about 5.9% with minor operations and 6.5% with major surgery, the study found. The rate was just 0.4% in people…
(Reuters Health)—In states that legalized medical marijuana, U.S. hospitals failed to see a predicted influx of pot smokers, but in an unexpected twist, they treated far fewer opioid users, a new study shows. Hospitalization rates for opioid painkiller dependence and abuse dropped on average 23% in states after marijuana was permitted for medicinal purposes, the…
(Reuters Health)—State programs that require physicians to check drug registries before writing prescriptions appeared to slash the odds of doctor-shopping for opioid pain relievers, a new study found. “Our study shows that prescription-drug monitoring programs are a promising component of a multifaceted strategy to address the opioid epidemic,” Ryan Mutter, one of the study authors,…
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been used therapeutically since the 1960s.1 Evidence of adverse cardiovascular outcomes led to the withdrawal of the selective COX-2 inhibitor rofecoxib in September 2004, when the question of cardiovascular safety of NSAIDs first came into the limelight.2 Valdecoxib (Bextra) was subsequently withdrawn from the market in April 2005 due to…
(Reuters Health)—As a complement to traditional pain relief tools, such as medication, listening to music may lessen acute or chronic pain related to cancer and other conditions, according to a new review. “We have seen and observed this effect in multiple clinical settings, such as medical hospitals and hospice-care facilities,” says author Dr. Jin Hyung…