Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) is an evidence-based, patient-focused protocol that reduces hospital stays, minimizes postoperative pain, and speeds overall patient recovery after surgery. “Frankly, ERAS has transformed the mentality of many health providers who used to just accept the status quo. For breast surgery patients, my multidisciplinary team and I have implemented ERAS to… Continue reading Less Pain, Quicker Recovery: ERAS Is All About Improving the Patient Experience
Tag: opioid
Think Before You Click: Buying Online Drugs Can Be Deadly
Illegal online websites are the new street drug dealers. Abusers of controlled substances, prescription drugs which are strictly limited in the U.S., are turning to these sites because, at the click of a mouse, they can “score” as many pills in one order as they want. But there are some serious problems with this practice.… Continue reading Think Before You Click: Buying Online Drugs Can Be Deadly
Patterns of Pain-Medicine Usage
If new research is anything to go by, Americans are in a lot of pain. The researchers in this newest study used data from the nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to examine the impact of pain-related interference — a measure of pain’s impact on normal work activities — on people’s health status and… Continue reading Patterns of Pain-Medicine Usage
Opioid-Free Anesthesia Decreases Post-Surgery Nausea
The use of opioid alternatives in general anesthesia is safe, effective and substantially decreases post-operative nausea, according to research presented at the 2017 annual meeting of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. Using those alternatives is part of an effort by TEAMHealth Anesthesia at Select Physicians Surgery Center in Tampa, Florida to reduce the use of… Continue reading Opioid-Free Anesthesia Decreases Post-Surgery Nausea
Millions of Unused Painkillers May Contribute to Opioid Epidemic
More than half of opioids prescribed to patients following surgical tooth extraction – such as the removal of impacted wisdom teeth – were left unused by patients, according to new research. The researchers, from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine, say the surplus is troubling given the ongoing… Continue reading Millions of Unused Painkillers May Contribute to Opioid Epidemic
A Safe Painkiller?
Researchers working from scratch have developed a new opioid drug candidate that blocks pain without the dangerous side effects of current prescription painkillers. The international team — led by scientists at UC San Francisco, Stanford University, the University of North Carolina (UNC), and the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany — explored more than four trillion… Continue reading A Safe Painkiller?
Combo Drug May Help Relieve Treatment-Resistant Depression
A clinical trial of an experimental drug for treatment-resistant major depression finds that modulation of the endogenous (inner) opioid system may improve the effectiveness of drugs that target the action of serotonin and related monoamine neurotransmitters. In their paper published online in February 2016 in the American Journal of Psychiatry, a multi-institutional research team reports… Continue reading Combo Drug May Help Relieve Treatment-Resistant Depression