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Since 2009, hospital intensive care units have witnessed a stark increase in opioid-related admissions and deaths, according to new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center’s (BIDMC) Center for Healthcare Delivery Science. Published online today ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, the study is believed to be the first to quantify the impact of opioid abuse on critical care resources in the United States. The findings reveal that opioid-related demand for acute care services has outstripped the available supply.
Analyzing data from the period between January 1, 2009 and September 31, 2015, the researchers documented a 34 percent increase in overdose-related ICU admissions. The average cost of care per ICU overdose admissions rose by 58 percent, from $58,517 in 2009 to $92,408 in 2015 (in 2015 dollars). Meanwhile opioid deaths in the ICU nearly doubled during that same period. "This study tells us that the opioid epidemic has made people sicker and killed more people, in spite of all the care we can provide in the ICU, including mechanical ventilation, acute dialysis, life support and round-the-clock care," said the study's lead author, Jennifer P. Stevens, MD, associate director of the medical intensive care unit at BIDMC and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.
[...] These data not only document the scope of the opioid abuse epidemic, they also reveal its complexity. Stevens and colleagues suggest that any opioid overdose-related admission is a preventable one, and that the team's findings not only represent the need for increased acute care resources, but also for expanded opioid-abuse prevention and treatment.
The article is paywalled but there is an abstract: The Critical Care Crisis of Opioid Overdoses in the United States
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday August 14 2017, @03:43AM (12 children)
Stop prescribing the shit all over the place? and find non-addictive alternatives where possible?
(Score: 3, Funny) by captain normal on Monday August 14 2017, @04:45AM (1 child)
Trump seemed to be saying it was heroin being brought in from Mexico that was to blame. Actually is mostly from prescription drugs like Morphine, Oxycodone, Fentanyl and Naloxone. The drug dealers are not hanging out on street corners, They are the big pharmaceutical companies who push out pain killers to doctors and clinics all over the U.S.
From the way Trump seems to be behaving I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't a big customer himself.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/13/dont-blame-addicts-for-americas-opioid-crisis-real-culprits [theguardian.com]
When life isn't going right, go left.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Monday August 14 2017, @05:43AM
Media seems to feed on opioids too :p
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 14 2017, @12:11PM
Stuff like this isn't going to stop until people stop giving the healthcare industry their money. Since there is a new law (in the US) forcing people to give the healthcare industry money, I don't expect it to stop anytime soon. These hospitals, doctors, researchers, insurance companies, etc are *not* your friends and you should be very scared any time you interact with them.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday August 14 2017, @02:04PM (5 children)
There is nothing wrong with prescribing it. My doctor gives me prescription opioids. I use them occasionally. Sometimes for days in a row. When I don't need them I stop. When I need a refill, I ask, and have never been refused. Sometimes when the doctor asks if I need a refill, I already have plenty, thanks. I've taken them for years, nearly a decade. My use has not increased over time.
The thing is, I have a great life. I don't want to screw it up with pills. I use them as a tool -- when I NEED them, and only then. Something that improves my quality of life, just like other medications do. When I do use them I am always looking for what is the smallest possible dose I can use that will be enough.
I am simply unable to understand how people get addicted to these things. Or why. What is the appeal? The attraction? Why trade a great life for a feeling from pills? I don't get it.
I also cringe at the idea that people want to take away this useful medicine from people who benefit greatly from it.
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(Score: 2) by Oakenshield on Monday August 14 2017, @04:26PM (1 child)
You are correct. I used to take Actifed for my seasonal allergies as that worked the best for me. It was dirt cheap so I could pick up a package of 20 for a few bucks. Then the meth-heads came and screwed it up for everybody. Now I cannot find it anywhere and when I substitute Allegra or Xyrtec it costs about five to ten times as much and doesn't work as well.
I took opiate pain relievers when I dislocated my knee. I never saw what the alleged "thrill" of opiates were either. I took a couple and said screw it, Advil worked just as well. I probably still have the bottle somewhere. The only thing I have ever taken that made me loopy was a single Valium that I received at the ER and I had absolutely no interest in ever having it again.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday August 14 2017, @06:49PM
I have rarely taken enough to be loopy. I don't see the appeal of it. I can't stand the idea of losing control of my mind, emotions and faculties. That's probably why I don't drink alcohol.
I daily take prescription nsaids stronger than advil. And tylenol. Occasionally opiates.
A couple months ago I was on vacation in Colorado. Tried some edibles while I was there to see if it would help. I thought it provided a bit of relief -- but not much. But the biggest thing was that it is not cost effective at all. At about $10 a dose, that's ridiculous. I'll stick with opiates when those times come when other drugs aren't enough. I can get a whole bottle of opiates for less than $10 -- the cost of a single dose of edibles. And unlike the cannabis, the prescription opiate is like a sledged hammer for pain. Maybe the edibles help others, but I wasn't impressed by either the effectiveness nor the cost.
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(Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 14 2017, @04:58PM
> Why trade a great life for a feeling from pills?
Not everyone has, or expects to ever have, a great life.
(Score: 1) by boris on Monday August 14 2017, @08:41PM (1 child)
Many go in with the same intention and usage pattern as you. Many do not get a high from it and use it exclusively for pain management as you do. Everyone is different and some are more susceptible to addiction than you. Also, your pain may be periodic, but others experience it constantly. Pain can drive you to do things you wouldn't possibly think you would be capable of.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday August 14 2017, @09:01PM
The pain is constant without any meds. But on most days prescription nsaids with tylenol, and other non opiate drugs are enough.
Someone that has pain that drives them to do things I don't think I would do, probably means they need more pain meds. I hope to never be in that situation.
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(Score: 4, Interesting) by meustrus on Monday August 14 2017, @04:56PM (2 children)
Or maybe we could prescribe it with sane instructions. We are all trained to take pills until the bottle is empty because of antibiotics. This strategy is 110% wrong with opioids, but there is no change in labeling. Doctors and pharmacists alike tell you - even in the midst of the crisis right now - to just take the pills. No discussion of "these are for pain, take as needed". More like "take all these pills and go away, you bother me".
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Monday August 14 2017, @06:20PM (1 child)
Part of that is that most pain pills work much better if you can take them before the pain starts.
So doctors prescribe pills at a rate of "take one just before the previous one wears off" and give you enough for the expected duration of the pain. For chronic pain this is a great way to get addicted.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by meustrus on Monday August 14 2017, @06:53PM
The fundamental problem is that if you take the pills in anticipation of pain, rather than in response to pain, you have no way of telling if you are still in pain. Responsible use of pain killers involves easing off every once in a while to re-evaluate whether you need as much as you are taking.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?