Pain management/clinical policyClinical Policy: Critical Issues in the Prescribing of Opioids for Adult Patients in the Emergency Department
Section snippets
Abstract
This clinical policy deals with critical issues in prescribing of opioids for adult patients treated in the emergency department (ED). This guideline is the result of the efforts of the American College of Emergency Physicians, in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration. The critical questions addressed in this clinical policy are: (1) In the adult ED patient with noncancer pain for whom opioid prescriptions are considered, what is
Methodology
This clinical policy was created after careful review and critical analysis of the medical literature. The critical questions were formulated in the PICO (patient, intervention, comparison, outcome)29 format to strengthen the clarity and scientific rigor of the questions. Searches of MEDLINE, MEDLINE InProcess, and the Cochrane Library were performed. All searches were limited to English-language sources, human studies, adults, and years 2000 to 2011. Specific key words/phrases and years used
1. In the adult ED patient with noncancer pain for whom opioid prescriptions are considered, what is the utility of state prescription drug monitoring programs in identifying patients who are at high risk for opioid abuse?
Recommendations
Future Research
Provider pain management practices related to opioids are highly variable. In part, this variability reflects the lack of evidence to guide many of these therapeutic decisions.76 Although there is high-quality research assessing the treatment of acute pain with opioid analgesics during the ED encounter, there is a paucity of studies assessing the benefits of prescribing opioids for discharged ED patients with acute pain and chronic noncancer pain, especially in comparison to other analgesic
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Cited by (0)
Approved by the ACEP Board of Directors, June 14, 2012
Supported by the Emergency Nurses Association, July 18, 2012