Battling treatment resistant opioid use disorder
Similar to treatment resistant depression, there is a subpopulation of those addicted to opioids who do not respond to standard opioid use disorder treatments. In a new paper, an addiction expert at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis suggests a new category for these types of patients: treatment resistant opioid use disorder.
WashU Expert: Opioid crisis more than what Trump calls ‘public health emergency’
President Donald Trump’s Oct. 26 announcement that the opioid epidemic is a “public health emergency” rather than a “national emergency” goes against the understanding of most authorities, said an expert on substance use disorder treatment at Washington University in St. Louis.
Spinal cord stimulation relieves back pain without opioids
Doctors who treat back pain are exploring new approaches that help some patients avoid opioid drugs. One option available at the Washington University Pain Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital involves stimulating the spinal cord with very short pulses of electricity.
WashU Expert: More must be done to address opioid crisis
Opioids, including heroin and prescription drugs, killed more than 33,000 people in 2015, more than any year on record, according to the CDC. President Trump’s proposed budget aims to address the crisis with a $500 million increase in prevention and treatment, but it isn’t enough to address the issue, says an expert on substance use disorder treatment.
Doctors recommend prescribing fewer opioids after surgery
Bolstering new federal guidelines that advise primary care doctors to carefully weigh the prescribing of opioid painkillers, two experts at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are recommending that surgeons also consider cutting back on the number of take-home opioid pills prescribed to patients after surgery.