scholarly journals The use of oral opioids to control children’s pain in the post-codeine era

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-123
Author(s):  
Michael J Rieder ◽  
Geert ’t Jong

Abstract Pain is a common problem for children, and pain management comprises both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic measures. For moderate to severe pain, oral opioids have been a popular choice for the last few decades. Codeine has historically been the best-known oral opioid for use in children. However, availability and use of codeine have sharply declined due to safety concerns. A variety of other opioids have been used in place of codeine, but data are limited regarding their efficacy and safety in children. While the same pathways metabolize oral oxycodone as codeine, oxycodone’s pharmacokinetics varies widely. There are also limited data on the safety and efficacy of oral hydromorphone and tramadol use for children. Oral morphine is the opiate alternative to codeine for which there is the most evidence of safety and efficacy in children. Research is needed to investigate both other opioids and non-opioid approaches to guide evidence-based analgesic therapy and treatment for moderate-to-severe pain in children.

CJEM ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 507-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huma Ali ◽  
Janeva Kircher ◽  
Christine Meyers ◽  
Joseph MacLellan ◽  
Samina Ali

AbstractBackgroundUnder-treatment of children’s pain in the emergency department (ED) can have many detrimental effects. Emergency medicine (EM) residents often manage pediatric pain, but their educational needs and perspectives have not been studied.MethodsA novel online survey was administered from May to June 2013 to 122 EM residents at three Canadian universities using a modified Dillman methodology. The survey instrument captured information on training received in pediatric acute pain management, approach to common painful presentations, level of comfort, perceived facilitators, and barriers and attitudes towards pediatric pain.Results56 residents participated (46%), 25 of whom (45%) indicated they had not received any training in pediatric pain assessment. All levels of residents reported they were uncomfortable with pain assessment in 0-2 year olds (p=0.07); level of comfort with assessment increased with years of training for patients aged 2-12 years (p=0.02). When assessing children with disabilities, 83% of respondents (45/54) indicated they were ‘extremely’ or ‘somewhat’ uncomfortable. Sixty-nine percent (38/55) had received training on how to treat pediatric pain. All residents reported they were more comfortable using pain medication for a 9 year old, as compared to a 1 year old (oral oxycodone p<0.001, oral morphine p<0.001, IV morphine p=0.004). The preferred methods to learn about children’s pain management were role-modeling (61%) and lectures (57%). The top challenges in pain management were with non-verbal, younger, or developmentally delayed patients.ConclusionCanadian EM residents report receiving inadequate training in pediatric pain management, and are particularly uneasy with younger or developmentally disabled children. Post-graduate curricula should be adjusted to correct these self-identified weaknesses in children’s pain management.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine T Chambers ◽  
Justine Dol ◽  
Jennifer A Parker ◽  
Line Caes ◽  
Kathryn A Birnie ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Despite the availability of high-quality evidence and clinical practice guidelines for the effective management of pediatric pain, this evidence is rarely used in practice for managing children’s pain from needle procedures such as vaccinations. Parents are generally unaware of pain management strategies they can use with their children. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate the implementation effectiveness of a parent-directed YouTube video on evidence-based strategies to manage needle pain in children. METHODS This was a descriptive study. Analytics were extracted from YouTube to describe video reach. A Web-based survey was used to seek parent and health care professional (HCP) feedback about the video. The 2-minute 18-second video was launched on YouTube on November 4, 2013. In the video, a 4-year-old girl tells parents what they should and should not do to help needles hurt less. The key evidence-based messages shared in the video were distraction, deep breathing, and topical anesthetic creams. A group of parents (n=163) and HCPs (n=278) completed the Web-based survey. Measures of reach included number of unique views, country where the video was viewed, sex of the viewer, and length of watch time. The Web-based survey assessed implementation outcomes of the video, such as acceptability, appropriateness, penetration, and adoption. RESULTS As of November 4, 2018 (5 years after launch), the video had 237,132 unique views from 182 countries, with most viewers watching an average of 55.1% (76/138 seconds) of the video. Overall, both parents and HCPs reported strong acceptance of the video (ie, they liked the video, found it helpful, and felt more confident) and reported significant improvements in plans to use distraction, deep breathing, and topical anesthetic creams. CONCLUSIONS This parent-directed YouTube video was an acceptable and appropriate way to disseminate evidence about the procedure of pain management to a large number of parents.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viveka Andersson ◽  
Stefan Bergman ◽  
Ingela Henoch ◽  
Kerstin Wickström Ene ◽  
Eva Otterström-Rydberg ◽  
...  

AbstractBackground and aimStudies have shown that pain is common among hospitalized patients and that there is a lack of compliance with pain management guidelines. Improving pain management does not only involve developing new drugs or technology; even more important is an effective organisation that utilises existing expertise. The aim of this study was to investigate whether pain in hospitalized patients can be reduced by implementing evidence-based pain management guidelines, providing education for staff and an organisation that includes pain responsibility nurses.MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out between 2009 and 2010 at two hospitals in southwest Sweden, comprising a baseline survey followed by an intervention. The study involved 306 patients, who answered questions about pain intensity at rest and while moving, disturbed sleep due to pain and whether they had used a pain rating scale while in hospital. Medical records were scrutinised for analgesic prescriptions. An intervention then took place, involving implementation of evidence-based guidelines, staff education and the introduction of pain responsibility nurses. A follow-up survey was carried out in 2012, in which 293 patients answered the same questions and their medical records were also reviewed. The baseline results were then compared with those of the follow-up survey.ResultsWhen compared with the baseline survey, the follow-up survey revealed significant differences in the use of validated pain rating instruments as well as the prescription of more appropriate analgesics. Prescription of paracetamol increased significantly in the follow-up survey; 56% of the patients were prescribed paracetamol on a regular basis, compared with 42% at baseline. There was also a significant increase in the use of strong opioids, from 38% at baseline to 55% at follow-up. Prescriptions of weak opioids decreased from 16% at baseline to 4% at follow-up. No significant differences were observed in patient pain levels in the follow-up survey. At baseline, 29% of the patients reported moderate to severe pain at rest (NRS 4–10) and at follow-up that figure was 24% (NRS 4–10). In both surveys, 41% reported moderate to severe pain (NRS 5–10) during movement. Thirty-nine percent reported disturbed sleep at night at both baseline and follow-up.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that evidence-based guidelines made accessible to all staff as a pocket size booklet and on the intranet, in combination with staff education, pain responsibility nurses who informed other staff on their own wards, improved the prescription of analgesics in the hospitals studied. In order to achieve a noticeable effect for patients, i.e., reduced pain levels, an intervention containing more components than those employed in the present study is required.ImplicationsNurses and physicians need greater knowledge about the importance of pain rating. A vital part of pain management at hospitals is continuous evaluation of treatment outcomes to prevent severe pain and disturbed sleep. The complexity of pain and pain management requires commitment, time and knowledge on the part of healthcare staff. Multi-professional pain teams that support ward staff in pain management are necessary in order to reduce suffering and unnecessary pain in hospitalized patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Eran Bornstein ◽  
Gregg Husk ◽  
Erez Lenchner ◽  
Amos Grunebaum ◽  
Therese Gadomski ◽  
...  

Background: Opioid use has emerged as a leading cause of death in the US. Given that 1 in 300 opioid-naive patients exposed to opioids after cesarean birth will become persistent users, hospitals should strive to limit exposure to these medications. We set out to evaluate whether transitioning to a standardized order set based on multimodal combination analgesic therapy decreases the exposure to opioids after cesarean delivery. Methods: Our health system’s post-cesarean pain management electronic medical record (EMR) order set was changed from standing NSAIDs (Ibuprofen 600 mg every 6 h) and additional acetaminophen and opioid medications (Oxycodone 5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg every 3 h or Oxycodone 10 mg/acetaminophen 650 mg every 6 h for moderate and severe pain, respectively) as needed (PRN) to a multimodal combination therapy with acetaminophen (975 mg every 6 h) and NSAIDs (Ibuprofen 600 mg every 6 h) as primary analgesics and opioids PRN (Oxycodone immediate release (IR) 5 mg every 3 h for moderate to severe pain). We performed a retrospective analysis across seven hospitals comparing inpatient opioid use, administration of other analgesics, and severe pain episodes (pain score ≥ 7) between the patients who were treated before and after implementation of the multimodal order set. Chi square and Student t-test were used for statistical analysis with significance determined as p < 0.05. Results: A total of 12,898 cesarean births were included (8696 prior and 4202 after implementation). The multimodal order set was associated with marked decrease in the incidence of post cesarean opioid use (45.4% vs. 67.5%; p < 0.0001), lower average opioid dose (26.7 mg vs. 36.6 mg of oxycodone; p < 0.0001), and increased dose of acetaminophen (8422 mg vs. 4563 mg; p < 0.0001), while severe pain scores were less frequent (46.3% vs. 56.6%, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Multimodal analgesic therapy for post-cesarean pain management reduces inpatient opioid use while improving pain control. Incorporation of a multimodal order set as a default in the EMR facilitates effective and widespread implementation on a large scale. Obstetric units should consider standardizing post-cesarean pain management orders to include routine (not PRN) multimodal combination therapy with acetaminophen and NSAIDs as primary analgesics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S270-S271
Author(s):  
Angela Gibson ◽  
Richard C Lennertz ◽  
Haley Zimmerman ◽  
Timothy McCormick ◽  
Lee Faucher

Abstract Introduction Burn injuries cause severe pain and patients often require high doses of opioid medications. Pain management is particularly challenging during dressing changes and following skin grafting procedures. Non-opioid analgesic medications and multimodal analgesic strategies have been promoted to improve pain management and decrease opioid use. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review to identify burn patients who underwent autologous skin grafting procedures between January 2011 and June 2018. We included patients who underwent were 18–80 years old and were inpatients for at least 24 hours before and after their procedure. We excluded patients who remained intubated in PACU, had surgery the day prior or had active opioid prescriptions prior to their hospitalization. We evaluated the effect of different non-opioid analgesic medications on opioid use following a skin grafting procedure. The primary outcome measure of this study compared opioid use 24 hours before skin grafting to 24 hours after skin grafting. Results We found that most patients (69%) reported severe pain (NRS ≥7) immediately after autologous skin grafting. On average, patients required an additional 54 mg of oral morphine equivalents (ME) in the 24 hours after the procedure compared to the 24 hours before. The use of perioperative non-opioid analgesia varied between patients (Acetaminophen 29%, gabapentin 29%, ketamine 33% and all three 8%). Patients who received either gabapentin or a combination of acetaminophen, gabapentin and ketamine had a smaller increase in their opioid use than patients who did not receive the medications (-24 ME, CI -46, -3 and -40 ME, CI -75, -5 respectively). Conclusions Burn patients who received perioperative acetaminophen, gabapentin and ketamine required relatively less opioid following their skin grafting procedure. Applicability of Research to Practice These results support the use of multimodal analgesia for perioperative analgesia in burn patients.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1144-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin W Chamberlin ◽  
Mark Cottle ◽  
Rebecca Neville ◽  
Jennifer Tan

Objective To describe the pharmacology, safety and efficacy, and rationale for use of oral oxymorphone for the management of acute and chronic moderate-to-severe pain. Data Sources A PubMed/MEDLINE search (1966-March 2007) was conducted using the following terms: oral oxymorphone, oxymorphone, EN 3202, EN 3203, Opana, and Opana ER. Manufacturer-provided data (package inserts) and abstracts presented at the American Pain Society meetings (2003–2006) were also reviewed. Study Selection and Data Extraction Human studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of oral oxymorphone in pain management were considered; animal and non–English-language data were excluded. Data Synthesis Oral oxymorphone is a semisynthetic opioid agonist that is specific for the μ-opioid receptor and approved to treat both acute and chronic pain. Unlike other opioids, such as oxycodone, oxymorphone does not bind to the κ-opioid receptor. Due to extensive liver metabolism, oral oxymorphone is contraindicated in patients with moderate-to-severe hepatic impairment; however, no clinically significant CYP3A4, 2C9, or 2D6 mediated drug-drug interactions have been noted. Elderly patients may experience a 40% increase in plasma concentrations, while renally impaired patients may have a 57–65% increase in bioavailability. Food can increase the rate of absorption by as much as 50%, necessitating dosing either 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal. Oxymorphone's primary adverse effects are similar to those of other opioids: nausea, vomiting, pruritus, pyrexia, and constipation. Conclusions Oxymorphone is an oral therapeutic option approved for the treatment of acute and chronic moderate-to-severe pain. Oxymorphone has a safety and efficacy profile similar to that of other commonly used pure opioids (morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone). Like oxycodone and morphine, oxymorphone also has immediate-release and extended-re lease formulations. Since cost alone is not yet favorable for oxymorphone over oxycodone or morphine, further studies of comparative efficacy targeting potential advantages of oxymorphone over other opioids are necessary before considering it for addition to a formulary.


10.2196/13552 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. e13552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine T Chambers ◽  
Justine Dol ◽  
Jennifer A Parker ◽  
Line Caes ◽  
Kathryn A Birnie ◽  
...  

Background Despite the availability of high-quality evidence and clinical practice guidelines for the effective management of pediatric pain, this evidence is rarely used in practice for managing children’s pain from needle procedures such as vaccinations. Parents are generally unaware of pain management strategies they can use with their children. Objective This study aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate the implementation effectiveness of a parent-directed YouTube video on evidence-based strategies to manage needle pain in children. Methods This was a descriptive study. Analytics were extracted from YouTube to describe video reach. A Web-based survey was used to seek parent and health care professional (HCP) feedback about the video. The 2-minute 18-second video was launched on YouTube on November 4, 2013. In the video, a 4-year-old girl tells parents what they should and should not do to help needles hurt less. The key evidence-based messages shared in the video were distraction, deep breathing, and topical anesthetic creams. A group of parents (n=163) and HCPs (n=278) completed the Web-based survey. Measures of reach included number of unique views, country where the video was viewed, sex of the viewer, and length of watch time. The Web-based survey assessed implementation outcomes of the video, such as acceptability, appropriateness, penetration, and adoption. Results As of November 4, 2018 (5 years after launch), the video had 237,132 unique views from 182 countries, with most viewers watching an average of 55.1% (76/138 seconds) of the video. Overall, both parents and HCPs reported strong acceptance of the video (ie, they liked the video, found it helpful, and felt more confident) and reported significant improvements in plans to use distraction, deep breathing, and topical anesthetic creams. Conclusions This parent-directed YouTube video was an acceptable and appropriate way to disseminate evidence about the procedure of pain management to a large number of parents.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Frödin ◽  
Margareta Warrén Stomberg

Pain management is an integral challenge in nursing and includes the responsibility of managing patients’ pain, evaluating pain therapy and ensuring the quality of care. The aims of this study were to explore patients’ experiences of pain after lung surgery and evaluate their satisfaction with the postoperative pain management. A descriptive design was used which studied 51 participants undergoing lung surgery. The incidence of moderate postoperative pain varied from 36- 58% among the participants and severe pain from 11-26%, during their hospital stay. Thirty-nine percent had more pain than expected. After three months, 20% experienced moderate pain and 4% experienced severe pain, while after six months, 16% experienced moderate pain. The desired quality of care goal was not fully achieved. We conclude that a large number of patients experienced moderate and severe postoperative pain and more than one third had more pain than expected. However, 88% were satisfied with the pain management. The findings confirm the severity of pain experienced after lung surgery and facilitate the apparent need for the continued improvement of postoperative pain management following this procedure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1160.1-1160
Author(s):  
E. Pogozheva ◽  
A. Karateev ◽  
V. Amirdzhanova

Objectives:to evaluate the effectiveness and satisfaction of pain management in patients with rheumatic diseases (RD) according to a survey in the COMPAS (Quality of Pain Management according to Patients with Arthritis and Back pain) study.Methods:the survey involved 1040 patients with RD (rheumatoid arthritis-40.6%, osteoarthritis -32.1%, spondyloarthritis-10.6%, connective tissue diseases-8.6% of patients). 76.8% were women, the mean age was 55.8±14.0 years. 35.7% of patients continued to work in their specialty, 31.6% had various degrees of disability. The effectiveness of pain therapy was evaluated by the patient in the last month preceding the survey on a 5-point scale, where 1 - no effect and 5-excellent effect. Patients ‘ satisfaction with treatment, possible reasons for the lack of effectiveness of pain therapy and the use of additional treatment tools were also evaluated.Results:as therapy for the underlying disease, 40% of patients received conventional disease modifying antirheumatic drugs, 33.1% - glucocorticoids, 7.2% - biological agents and 15.2% - symptomatic slow-acting drugs in osteoarthritis. At the same time, 68% of patients needed additional analgesic therapy with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Slightly less than half of the surveyed patients (46.9%) noted a moderate effect of analgesic therapy, 22.7% - a low effect and 5% - no effect, 23.7% rated the effectiveness of therapy as good and only 1.7% - as excellent. At the same time, only 15.6% of patients were completely satisfied with the result of NSAIDs, 64% were partially satisfied with the treatment and 20.4% were completely dissatisfied. As the reason of insufficient effectiveness of NSAIDs, most often (34.3%) patients named fear of adverse events associated with taking drugs, 19.4% - weak drugs, 15.3% - insufficient attention of doctors to complaints, 6.6% - poor diagnosis of the causes of pain. Others found it difficult to answer or were completely satisfied with the treatment. 40% of patients used additional methods, most often chiropractic (12.3%), acupuncture (4.8%), physiotherapy (12.7%) and folk remedies (7.4%).Conclusion:A significant proportion of patients with RD don’t have adequate pain control. Only 25.4% of patients rate the result of treatment as good and excellent, and even fewer patients (15.6%) are completely satisfied with the results of therapy. Thus, a personalized approach to analgesic therapy is necessary, taking into account the expectations of patients regarding the results of treatment.Disclosure of Interests:None declared


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