[ad_1]
The use of opioids to treat pain often raises concerns about its addictive effects that can even lead to death.
Opioids are among the most prescribed painkillers in the world.
are used to treat pain caused by almost everything from heart attacks to cancer.
But in the UK recently, they were linked to the death of hundreds of elderly patients advanced in hospitals, while the United States fights an epidemic of opioid addiction.
Why are these dangerous drugs still being administered to patients? Why not use other painkillers ?
A Global Problem
Opioids act in combination with receptors in the brain and reduce the sensation of pain very effectively. ]
However, opioid receptors are present in areas of the brain responsible for the control of respiration and high doses can dangerously reduce respiratory rate cause [19659005] A survey conducted at the Gosport War Memorial Hospital, in the UK, revealed that more than 450 people had died between 1989 and 2000 of administering "dangerous" quantities of opioids without medical justification.
In the United States, the increasingly widespread prescription of opioids to treat long-term pain has led to an epidemic of addiction. In 2016, a record 11.5 million people in the United States. There were 42,249 deaths due to overdoses.
In England, deaths related to opioid overdoses in 2016 were 2,000, the highest since records began. But unlike deaths in the United States, these are primarily related to heroin instead of the available prescription opioid forms.
What is an opioid?
- group of drugs primarily used to treat pain
- Includes natural chemicals such as morphine and codeine, as well as synthetic drugs
- Codeine, morphine and methadone are among the opioids considered by the World Health Organization to be essential for pain management and end-of-life care
- Some opioids, such as methadone and buprenorphine, are used to help people end their addiction to other more potent opioids like heroin
Constant relief
One of the reasons opioids are widely used is that, when used correctly, they are particularly useful as badgesics [194590] 07]. They can be administered to patients in different ways and shapes.
Morphine can be administered orally or by injection; other opioids can be administered by means of patches, lozenges or sublingual tablets
The Gosport hospital report focused on the pumps of syringes a method of # 39; administration of a drug under the skin, to provide a constant dose of an opioid to relieve pain.
This can be a helpful way of relieving pain at the end of a person's life, when the patient can not swallow or absorb the drug. Syringe pumps also help doctors adjust the dose as needed.
However, at Gosport Hospital, it was reported that syringe pumps were used when they were not warranted or to administer too high doses. opioids
Opioids Handled
Despite its advantages, the problems badociated with these drugs are clear.
For decades, scientists have been trying to develop opioids that work without causing addiction problems and
Some have deliberately added additional ingredients to cause a reaction causing suffering.
For example, the antidote to naloxone has virtually no side effects if the drug taken by mouth but causes severe symptoms of abstinence if the tablet is crushed and injected by a dependent user.
We studied implants and slow-release injections that wear out over a long period of time.
In the United States, one of the causes of the opioid epidemic is excessive prescribing, especially in people with pain.
In people with acute pain, opioids can be used in conjunction with other medications, including common painkillers such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and the like. aspirin
. ] meticulous badessments of the causes of pain to understand the best way to use opioids, while minimizing possible side effects.
For example, cancer patients suffering from pain as a result of nerve damage caused by chemotherapy could first be treated with paracetamol and a tricyclic antidepressant. If this does not help, or if the patient has more severe pain, opioids can be given.
For terminally ill patients, opioids are often the most effective way to relieve pain. It is estimated that between 30% and 94% of people with advanced cancer experience pain and that about half of cancer patients have received an opioid during the last three months of their life. life.
If they are used appropriately and in the right amount, opioids are not only safe, they are essential for good control of the patient's symptoms.
Reports to the Gosport Hospital and the Addiction Crisis in the United States put under scrutiny the use of opioids by physicians
a better education and training could be a way of ensuring that they are used properly, so that potential damage to patients is avoided.
[ad_2]
Source link
