Authors: Walley AY and Green TC. Published in Ann Intern Med 2016 Jun 28; Coprescribing naloxone was associated with fewer opioid-related emergency room visits. Many communities that use targeted distribution of the short-acting opioid antagonist naloxone to reverse unintentional opioid overdoses have seen declines in community-level opioid overdose–related mortality. In this observational study from six “safety net” […]
Read MoreBy Lynn R. Webster, MD A Medpage Today article titled “Opioid Crisis: Scrap Pain as 5th Vital Sign?” lays out similar flawed arguments touted by Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing (PROP). The American Medical Association was petitioned by its Illinois delegates to remove pain’s fifth-vital-sign status. What are these flawed arguments? One is to falsely equate the […]
Read MoreMalpractice claims are a dreaded but rare fact of the practice of medicine—but not so rare if you’ve already been sued, researchers have found. A recent study suggests that a small share of physicians account for the majority of malpractice suits in the United States. How small? Roughly 1% of all doctors were involved in […]
Read MoreOpioids as a treatment for chronic pain have exposed the holes in our country’s health care system in an unparalleled fashion. Now, a new guideline issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discourages the use of opioids in treating chronic pain, excluding cancer and end-of-life care (MMWR Recomm Rep 2016;65:1-49). The CDC touts […]
Read MoreAnesthesia & Analgesia: August 2016 – Volume 123 – Issue 2 – p 420–429 AUTHORS: Willems, Ariane MD, MSci Biomed, PhD et al BACKGROUND: Children undergoing cardiac surgery are frequently exposed to red blood cell (RBC) transfusions mainly in the case of hemorrhage or low oxygen transport. However, in this population, RBCs are sometimes added […]
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