2023-09-17 09:15:01
Barcelona, Sep 17 (EFE).- Prescribing just a few opioid tablets to patients discharged from the emergency room can sufficiently relieve pain and prevent the misuse of these drugs, according to a study presented at the European Congress of Emergency Medicine in Barcelona.
The congress, organized by the European Society of Emergency Medicine (EUSEM), brings together from this weekend until Wednesday more than 3,000 specialists at the Barcelona International Convention Center (CCIB), in an event in which They present the latest research in the field of emergencies.
One of the studies that was made known this Sunday is that of the professor at the University of Montreal (Canada), Raoul Daoust, regarding the appropriate prescription of opioids, drugs that are effective in relieving pain but highly addictive.
In this regard, the recent opioid abuse crisis has been attributed in part to their overprescription, especially for chronic pain, and doctors have become cautious regarding administering these medications to patients.
However, it is also vital that patients receive enough medication to help them recover from pain and injuries.
In this sense, the new study wants to help emergency doctors achieve the right balance.
According to the study, half of patients discharged from the emergency department need only five tablets or less than five milligrams of morphine or an equivalent opioid pain reliever.
“With this research I wanted to offer a personalized approach to prescribing opioids, so that patients have enough to control their pain, but also that there are almost no unused tablets, that is, available for misuse,” said Daoust. .
Professor Daoust and his colleagues recruited 2,240 adult patients who were treated in one of six hospital emergency departments in Canada for conditions that cause acute pain.
All were discharged with a prescription for opioids and were asked to complete a daily regimen of pain medications for the next two weeks.
Overall, half of the patients took five morphine tablets (5 mg) or less, although the number of tablets that would be sufficient for most patients for two weeks varied greatly depending on the patient’s pain status.
For example, patients suffering from renal colic or abdominal pain required only eight tablets and patients with bone fractures required 24 tablets.
“Our findings allow us to adapt the amount of opioids we prescribe according to the patient’s needs and we might ask the pharmacist to also provide opioids in small portions, such as five tablets initially, because for half of the patients that would be enough for two weeks,” the researcher explained. EFE
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