Editor's Note Black patients are less likely to receive multimodal analgesia and more likely to be given additional oral opioids compared to white patients, according to research presented at the Anesthesiology 2024 annual meeting. According to an October 20 report on the retrospective study from the American Society of Anesthesiologists,…

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Editor's Note Music-based interventions administered preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively can significantly reduce postoperative opioid use and improve mood in patients undergoing same-day surgeries, according to research published October 15 in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial evaluated 75 patients aged 18 to 80 who received…

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Editor's Note The first clinical guidance for prescribing opioids to children recommend combining the drugs with nonopioid medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen rather than as monotherapy, according to a September 30 report in Healio. Released by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the guidance also specifies that naloxone should also…

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Editor's Note The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has announced nearly $75 million in funding to address critical challenges in rural health, including opioid treatment, maternal health care in the South, and supporting the financial stability of rural…

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Editor's Note Research reveals nearly 10% of patients treated with prescription opioid painkillers develop opioid dependency or opioid use disorder (OUD), Healio reported on August 13. Additionally, nearly 30% of patients exhibit signs and symptoms indicating potential OUD. Originally published in the journal Addiction, the data are from a systematic…

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Editor's Note Many youths continue to take opioids months after undergoing surgery, according to a recent multi-institutional study published in JAMA Network. Medical Xpress covered the news July 11. Conducted by researchers from CHOP, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford Medicine, the study found 1 in 6 youths…

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Editor's Note In a first for Northwestern Medicine, surgeons performed a kidney transplant on an awake patient, CBS News reported June 24. John Nicholas, 28, of Chicago, experienced no pain during the May 24 procedure, in which he received an organ from a childhood friend. He was discharged the next…

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Editor's Note A simple, two-question survey could help identify patients most likely to develop chronic pain during recovery from surgery or injury and direct them toward proactive, holistic services that reduce reliance on opioids. NEJM Catalyst published the findings on March 20. Conducted by a research team from Duke University,…

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What if a surgeon decided to perform a procedure on a patient that was not totally necessary? It happens more often that one might realize. As recently as August 2023, Forbes published an article that cited a Harvard Business Review report stating that over 50% of lumbar spine surgeries are…

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The promise of quicker recovery and fewer complications from sedation, anesthesia, and pain management have drawn clinicians and patients alike to procedures performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and other outpatient settings. However, sedation, anesthesia, and analgesia add their own risks to those of the procedure itself. Understanding the latest…

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