Editor's Note The opioid epidemic has expanded the pool of overdose-death donors (ODDs) for heart transplantation. Even though ODDs have higher rates of hepatitis C, cardiac allograft quality indices are favorable, and recipient outcomes are similar to those with non-ODD hearts, this study finds. Of 15,904 heart transplant donors analyzed,…

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Editor's Note Multimodal analgesia with minimal opiates improved pain control and significantly decreased opiate use and opiate-related adverse effects after discharge from elective total hip replacement surgery, finds this study. The 235 patients analyzed received one of three discharge pain regimens: Group A: scheduled-dose multimodal analgesia (ie, acetaminophen, meloxicam, gabapentin)…

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Editor's Note The Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task force, a Health and Human Services (HHA) federal advisory committee on May 30 released its final report. The report calls for a balanced, individualized, patient-centered approach to pain management and underscores the need to address stigma, risk assessment, access to care,…

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Editor's Note Patients on an opioid-sparing postoperative pain management pathway reported minimal or no opioid use and high satisfaction and pain control in this study. A total of 190 patients having one of six different procedures participated in the pathway and were advised to use acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 6…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced on April 17 that the April issue of Quick Safety focuses on drug diversion and examines patterns and trends that could indicate drug diversion. It also offers safety actions organizations can take and describes how to take the mistakes other hospitals have made and…

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Editor's Note The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on April 9 issued a Drug Safety Announcement saying it has received reports of serious harm in patients who are physically dependent on opioid pain medications and suddenly have them discontinued or rapidly decreased. Because of these reports, the FDA is requiring…

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Editor's Note After a hospital-wide intervention and state-wide legislation, this community hospital in Michigan achieved a 60%-70% decrease in postoperative opioid prescriptions and less variation in opioid prescription practices. This retrospective study of opioid naïve adult patients who had one of five general surgical procedures between 2015 and 2017 found…

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Pressure to contain opioid overuse in the United States is at a boiling point. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that overdose deaths linked to opioid prescriptions have increased fivefold over the last two decades. To reduce reliance on opioid prescriptions, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…

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Editor's Note Intravenous (IV) acetaminophen did not result in a significant difference in pain scores, opioid consumption, or opioid-related adverse events compared with oral acetaminophen, finds this study presented March 12 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting in Las Vegas. A total of 154 patients having total…

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Editor's Note Long-term opioid use among family members was associated with persistent postoperative opioid use in opioid-naïve adolescents and young adults and should be screened for preoperatively, this study finds. Of 346,251 opioid-naïve patients aged 13 to 21 years having common surgical and dental procedures, persistent opioid use occurred in…

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