Special Reports Health & Social Care Reports Focused research to enable safer and more effective use of opioids May 30, 2024 image: ©skhoward | iStock Over the past year, the Michael G DeGroote Institute for Pain Research and Care has offered a series of articles in Open Access Government about issues surrounding the opioid crisis, with a focus on events and practices in Canada, but what else is there to know? This series highlighted several areas where significant information gaps create challenges for the development of evidence-based guidelines for the use of opioids for chronic pain These informative pieces explored the many facets of opioid use in Canada, such as the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies (e.g., treatment agreements, co-prescription of naloxone, urine drug screening, monitoring of prescription drug plan databases), the impact of opioid tapering on the risk of overdose, and optimal approaches to facilitating opioid tapering among patients who voluntarily agree to reduce their dose.
Managing chronic pain without opioids Other research has raised questions about the development of chronic pain after injuries or surgery, and the potential role of suppression of the inflammatory healing process by non-opioid analgesics – especially with potent anti-inflammatory agents. Clinical protocols are being developed for perioperative analgesic care to reduce use of opioids, in order to reduce opioid dependence; however, care is warranted to ensure that such pr.
