Laxmaiah Manchikanti, Adam M Kaye, Nebojsa Nick Knezevic, James Giordano, Megan K Applewhite, Alexander Bautista, Amol Soin, Susan K Blank, Mahendra R Sanapati, Jay Karri, Paul J Christo, Alaa Abd-Elsayed, Alan D Kaye, Aaron Calodney, Annu Navani, Christopher G Gharibo, Michael Harned, Mayank Gupta, Mustafa Broachwala, Nalini Sehgal, Andrew Kaufman, Bradley Wargo, Daneshvari R Solanki, Eric S Hsu, Gerard Limerick, Allen Dennis, John R Swicegood, Konstantin Slavin, Lee Snook, Ramarao Pasupuleti, Radomir Kosanovic, Rafael Justiz, Robert Barkin, Sairam Atluri, Shalini Shah, Vidyasagar Pampati, Standiford Helm Ii, Vahid Grami, Vicki Myckowiak, Vincent Galan, Vijay Singh, Vivek Manocha, Joshua A Hirsch
BACKGROUND: Opioid prescribing in the United States is decreasing, however, the opioid epidemic is continuing at an uncontrollable rate. Available data show a significant number of opioid deaths, primarily associated with illicit fentanyl use. It is interesting to also note that the data show no clear correlation between opioid prescribing (either number of prescriptions or morphine milligram equivalent [MME] per capita), opioid hospitalizations, and deaths. Furthermore, the data suggest that the 2016 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have resulted in notable problems including increased hospitalizations and mental health disorders due to the lack of appropriate opioid prescribing as well as inaptly rapid tapering or weaning processes...
December 2023: Pain Physician