The United States (U.S.) is facing a national opioid epidemic, and medical systems are in need of non- pharmacologic strategies that can be employed to decrease the public's opioid dependence. Acupuncture has emerg...
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The United States (U.S.) is facing a national opioid epidemic, and medical systems are in need of non- pharmacologic strategies that can be employed to decrease the public's opioid dependence. Acupuncture has emerged as a powerful, evidence-based, safe, cost-effective, and available treatment modality suitable to meeting this need. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective for the management of numerous types of pain conditions, and mechanisms of action for acupuncture have been described and are understandable from biomedical, physiologic perspectives. Further, acupuncture's cost-effectiveness can dramatically decrease health care expenditures, both from the standpoint of treating acute pain and through avoiding addiction to opioids that requires costly care, destroys quality of life, and can lead to fatal overdose. Numerous federal regulatory agencies have advised or mandated that healthcare systems and providers offer non-pharmacologic treatment options for pain. Acupuncture stands out as the most evidence-based, immediately available choice to fulfil these calls. Acupuncture can safely, easily, and cost-effectively be incorporated into hospital settings as diverse as the emergency department, labor and delivery suites, andneonatal intensive care units to treat a variety of commonly seen pain conditions. Acupuncture is already being successfully and meaningfully utilized by the Veterans Administration and various branches of the U.S. Military, in some studies demonstrably decreasing the volume of opioids prescribed when included in care.
30 year old female now para 1 presented to the Emergency Department with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain 6 days after an uncomplicated primary cesarean delivery. She did not respond to conservative management and...
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30 year old female now para 1 presented to the Emergency Department with nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain 6 days after an uncomplicated primary cesarean delivery. She did not respond to conservative management and underwent exploratory laparotomy for worsening pain, pneumoperitoneum and intraabdominal fluid collections. Gastric perforations required repair via gastrojejunostomy. Postoperative course was unremarkable. The anti-opioid campaign has altered the approach to postoperative pain management in both positive and negative ways. It has sparked new interest in alternative approaches to postoperative pain management, which include an increased role for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). We present a case of a woman who had a significant complication due to the reliance of non-opioid pain medications after cesarean delivery.
The opioid epidemic in the United States continues to take the lives of many individuals, with overdoses continuing to rise every year. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that is efficacious in temporarily reversing opi...
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The opioid epidemic in the United States continues to take the lives of many individuals, with overdoses continuing to rise every year. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that is efficacious in temporarily reversing opioid overdoses. Pharmacists play an important role in the accessibility and education of naloxone in both the community and health system settings. Recent efforts, such as co-dispensing naloxone with opioid prescriptions, naloxone training programs, and approval of naloxone to be over-the-counter, have been implemented in hopes to better control the opioid epidemic. Despite the efforts to make naloxone more accessible, there are still some barriers to overcome such as lack of training, cost, stigma, and patient refusal. This review aims to explore the contributions pharmacists have made thus far and define the barriers that still have to be resolved.
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