Opioids - Articles - Page 3 | CARLAT PUBLISHING

How to Safely Prescribe Z-Drugs

August 13, 2020

There’s good reason to be careful prescribing Z-drugs. Here’s an overview of Dr. Reban Aziz’s recent article in The Carlat Addiction Treatment Report.Safety Tips Go short-term or intermittent to reduce the potential for adverse events and withdrawal. Avoid for SUD or complex sleep disorders. Use as last resort after considering...

EXPERT Q&A

Gabapentin Misuse and Diversion

June 10, 2020

Rachel Vickers-Smith, PhD, MPH

Rachel Vickers-Smith, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor at University of Louisville, KY. Dr. Vickers-Smith has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Clinicians are increasingly turning to gabapentinoids as non-opioid alternatives for pain treatment. Yet we may be inadvertently introducing new risks in so doing. Dr. Vickers-Smith reviews current epidemiology of gabapentinoid use and offers some clues regarding how to turn the tide on gabapentin misuse.

SAMHSA Relaxes Regulations on Methadone and Buprenorphine During COVID-19 Emergency

June 10, 2020

Benjamin Oldfield

Benjamin Oldfield Editor-in-Chief of CATR. Clinical Instructor in Medicine and Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine; Chief Medical Officer at Fair Haven Community Health Care, CT. Dr. Oldfield has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

In the context of a pandemic, how can and should our practices change to continue to meet the needs of patients with opioid use disorder? We summarize recent changes to the regulations surrounding medications for opioid use disorder: buprenorphine and methadone.

Muscle Relaxants: Sedatives Often Under the Radar

June 10, 2020

Michael Weaver, MD, FASAM.

Michael Weaver, MD, FASAM. Professor and medical director at the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions at the University of Texas Medical School. Author of Addiction Treatment (Carlat Publishing, 2017). Dr. Weaver has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Muscle relaxants encompass medications with different mechanisms of action—many of which have been used for decades. Yet most are sedating, can have significant side effects, and can interact with opioids and other substances to worsen CNS and respiratory depression.

EXPERT Q&A

Benzodiazepines: Old Medicines, New Concerns

June 10, 2020

Kenneth Morford, MD

Kenneth Morford, MD
Assistant Professor and Program Director, Collaborative Behavioral Health & Addiction Medicine in Primary Care (CHAMP) at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Morford has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Benzodiazepine use is on the rise, and is implicated with a significant portion of opioid-related overdose deaths. Dr. Morford gives the latest on benzodiazepine prevalence and suggests strategies to employ in addiction treatment settings when working with patients who use benzodiazepines.

Prescribing Medications for Opioid Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Emergency

April 15, 2020

Buprenorphine and methadone, the cornerstones of treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), are subject to more restrictions than other medications due to their inherent risks and concerns for diversion. These restrictions obligate that people receiving medications for OUD present to the clinic or opioid treatment program (OTP) frequently for refills...

Perioperative Management of Patients on Buprenorphine Maintenance

November 22, 2019

Gregory Acampora, MD

Gregory Acampora, MD

Psychiatrist, Pain Management Center, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Center for Addiction Medicine, Boston, MA. Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Acampora has disclosed that he has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

For patients on buprenorphine maintenance facing surgery, it is crucial to balance the need to minimize pain while addressing the risk of relapse. In this interview, Dr. Gregory Acampora guides us through the specifics on perioperatively managing patients on varying doses of buprenorphine maintenance.

Is There a Case for Cannabis in the Treatment of Pain?

August 30, 2019

Adrienne Grzenda, MD, PhD.

Adrienne Grzenda, MD, PhD. Dr. Grzenda has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Many patients report that marijuana improves their pain. Their experience has a grain of truth to it, but not enough to classify cannabis as an analgesic.

Treating Addiction in Patients Transitioning to/from Incarceration

August 1, 2019

Karen Cropsey, PsyD

Karen Cropsey, PsyD

Conatser Turner Endowed Professor of Psychiatry, University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Dr. Cropsey has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Addiction treatment during incarceration is limited, and release from incarceration presents its own set of challenges. In this QA interview, Dr. Karen Cropsey discusses effective treatment options for patients with substance use disorders transitioning to or from incarceration.

New Generic Versions of Naloxone

August 1, 2019

Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP.

Talia Puzantian, PharmD, BCPP. Dr. Puzantian has disclosed that she has no relevant financial or other interests in any commercial companies pertaining to this educational activity.

Naloxone, a rescue medication effective for reversing opioid overdose, will soon be available in two generic forms for layperson use. This news of note summarizes these generic, lower-cost products.