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(Reuters Health) – More and more Americans could be receiving opioids for their pets, and veterinarians seem to prescribe more and more powerful versions of these drugs to animals, suggests a small study.
The researchers examined data on opioid tablets and patches delivered or prescribed by 134 veterinarians at a Philadelphia Small Animal University Hospital from 2007 to 2017. Over the decade, the amount of opioids used for creatures like rabbits, birds and reptiles jumped 41% even though hospital visits only increased by 13%.
"We have no way of knowing if the owners of these animals have gotten themselves one or the other of these prescriptions, but most of the time no," said Dr. Jeanmarie Perrone, lead author of the study, a toxicologist at the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
"However, the risk to humans is that unused opioid prescriptions in animals end up in the same medicine cabinets as other opioids, which creates risks of misuse by teenagers or unintentional exposures in children, perhaps deadly, "Perrone said via e-mail.
The study included 366,468 pet visits to the animal hospital. During these visits, veterinarians prescribed a total of 105.2 million tramadol tablets, over 97,000 hydrocodone tablets, nearly 39,000 codeine tablets and 3,153 fentanyl patches.
Dogs consumed the most drugs (73%), followed by cats (22.5%) and exotic animals (4.5%).
A major factor contributing to the growing opioid crisis in the United States is the increasing availability of these drugs, which addicts often receive from their friends or relatives when they can not get a prescription, noted researchers in JAMA. Network Open.
Although medical and dental providers are the main source of these opioids, this study suggests that veterinary prescriptions could also be part of the problem, they write.
Veterinarians and veterinary clinics may be registered with the US Enforcement Drug Administration. In many states, veterinarians may prescribe, store and administer opioids without the same reporting requirements as those in many outlets. According to the authors of the study, only 20 states require veterinarians to report the prescription of opioids, as doctors do, to a registry designed to limit abuse.
Pennsylvania is one of many states with no reporting requirements, and the findings of the study could reflect what is happening in other states without registers to help combat abuse, declared Perrone.
Dr. Lee Newman, a researcher at the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado, CU Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. Or, if this is due to the increasing number of people with addiction problems trying to get drugs from vets – or both.
"It's a speculation on my part, but it could be that when a human patient stops receiving opioid prescriptions from his doctor, he then turns to the vet to try to get hold of drugs, "said Newman, who was not involved in the study. E-mail.
Although the study suggests that the prescription of opioids by veterinarians represents only a small fraction of the overall prescription of opioids in the country, it also suggests that veterinary practices could be a neglected part of the problem, said Kirk Evoy of the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy and University Health System in San Antonio.
"This study shows that it is another potential source of opioid access that many clinicians and policymakers may not be thinking of in their efforts to reduce the risk of opioid drug use." "epidemic of opioid abuse in the country," said Evoy, who did not participate in the study. said by email.
"Moreover, while the prescription of human opioids has begun to stabilize in recent years in response to the epidemic of opioids, these data seem to indicate that, at least in the hospital Specifically studied, the prescription of opioids for animals has continued to increase, "said Evoy. I said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/2UQ1EoQ JAMA Network Open, online January 11, 2019.
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