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Category: Health Info published by Shameen Published on: April 21, 2019, 11:00 pm EST Update: April 22, 2019, 12:22 pm EST
Washington: According to a study, patients who had been prescribed opioid badgesics but who were constantly changing the dose were three times more likely to overdose than those on a stable opioid.
"Our study suggests that it is complex to safely manage long-term opioid therapy," said Ingrid Binswanger, co-author of the study published in the journal 'JAMA Network Open'.
The study also found that patients who stopped opioid treatment for three months or longer were at risk of overdosing by half.
"This study suggests that increasing and decreasing opioid doses – also known as dose variability – may present an increased risk of overdose. In this study, we also found that stopping opioid treatment could prevent overdoses, "said Ingrid.
She went on to say, "With continued education, we hope to find out how caregivers can help patients with pain without putting them at unnecessary risk because of rapid dose changes."
The study lasted 12 years and involved 14,000 people who received long-term opioid therapy.
Researchers used electronic health records to track patients' history to determine whether they had dose changes and overdoses caused by opioid badgesics and other opioid medications.
"Our goal is to help identify the safest and most effective approaches to managing long-term opioid therapy. We want to be able to minimize patients' pain and reduce their risk of overdose, "said Jason Glanz, co-author of the study.
Source: ANI
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