Analgesics

A crisis hidden in plain sight? Prescription opioid misuse in the UK

The United States is in the grip of an opioid misuse epidemic, with 142 opioid-related deaths every day. Could prescription painkiller misuse reach crisis levels in the UK too?…

Pharmacological treatment options for fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a high-impact and prevalent condition. Its clinical features include widespread pain and tenderness — often associated with high levels of poor-quality sleep, fatigue and cognitive dysfunction. The mechanism leading to fibromyalgia development is associated with a cha…

Methadone and buprenorphine to be used to tackle US opioid crisis

The US Food and Drug Administration plans to encourage greater use of what it regards as less harmful opioid drugs, such as methadone and buprenorphine, to manage addiction to prescription opioids in a radical shift in policy.…

Trump formally declares US opioid crisis a ‘public health emergency’

President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has declared the nation’s opioid crisis a public health emergency, despite saying in August 2017 that he was planning to declare it a national emergency.…

Limit opioid use before knee surgery to optimise outcomes, say researchers

Study supports existing research that preoperative opioid use could lead to worse pain outcomes after surgery.…

Prescribing gabapentin with opioids could increase risk of fatal overdose, study finds

Patients who are prescribed the anticonvulsant medication gabapentin alongside opioid painkillers could face an increased risk of opioid-related death, a new study published in PLOS Medicine has found.…

Big increase in opioid prescriptions and related hospital admissions since 2000

The proportion of patients prescribed opioids and Z-drugs doubled between 2000 and 2012, according to the results of a study into prescribing patterns in dependence-forming medicines, by the Public Health Research Consortium.…

Limited evidence for use of gabapentinoids to treat chronic low back pain

Analysis of randomised controlled trials assessing the use of gabapentinoids for chronic low back pain confirms that evidence on their use is limited and the drug should be used with caution. …

FDA to examine opioid-containing cough medicine for children

The US drug safety watchdog is convening a panel of experts to consider the risks and benefits of opioid-containing prescription cough medicine for children.…

President Trump declares opioid crisis a national emergency

US President Donald Trump has declared the country’s opioid abuse epidemic a national emergency.…