Question

The amount of prescription opioids sold in the U.S. has nearly quadrupled since 1999. Every day, 91 Americans die from an opioid overdose. Who among the “Special Populations” you read about are vulnerable to an opioid addiction? What needs to be done to curb this already huge and growing problem

Answer 1

The pediatric and geriatric patients are the special population who can become the vulnerable people for opioid addiction.In pediatrics the unresolved pain as in cancer can make them opiod dependent as well as among geriatric population.

Steps to curb the problem

• Multimodal treatment plans-which involves use of analgesics that target pharmacological mechanisms underlying analgesia and nociception in conjunction with psychological and physical therapy
• Developing prescription monitoring program
• Universal precautions in pain management
• Patient education regarding the sideeffects of opiods and safe usage
• Urine drug toxicology screening
• Safe disposal of unused opioids
• Educating health providers on safe usage of opiods