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Current State of Opioid Therapy and Abuse

  • Other Pain (N Vadivelu and A Kaye, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Currently, there is growing tension between the twin challenges of opioid therapy for chronic pain and adverse consequences of abuse, leading to multiple complications including respiratory failure and death. The recent data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have shown continued escalation of prescription opioid use with opioid overdose deaths topping all previous estimations. Numerous policy initiatives, advisories, and guidelines have been advanced through the years to control the opioid epidemic. The strategies to prevent opioid abuse and to maintain opioid therapy when medically necessary fall into primary and secondary prevention categories. The primary prevention category is extremely crucial, since it involves education of primary care providers and patients at the starting point of opioid therapy. The education of surgeons and other prescribers is as crucial as the education of primary care physicians.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pain Management Center of Paducah, 2831 Lone Oak Road, Paducah, Kentucky, 42003, USA

    Laxmaiah Manchikanti

  2. Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA

    Laxmaiah Manchikanti

  3. Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Pacific, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 3601 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA, 95211, USA

    Adam M. Kaye

  4. Department of Anesthesia, LSU Health Science Center, 1542 Tulane Ave Room 659, New Orleans, LA, 70112, USA

    Alan D. Kaye

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Laxmaiah Manchikanti has provided limited consulting services to Semnur Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated, which is developing non-particulate steroids.

Adam M. Kaye declares no conflict of interest.

Alan D. Kaye is a speaker for Depomed, Inc.

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Manchikanti, L., Kaye, A.M. & Kaye, A.D. Current State of Opioid Therapy and Abuse. Curr Pain Headache Rep 20, 34 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11916-016-0564-x

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