A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.
Every physician takes the Hippocratic oath and promises to “do no harm.” In the face of the current opioid epidemic, this includes protecting our patients from dependence and addiction, including those who are suffering from debilitating acute and chronic pain. Sometimes this involves getting creative as we develop treatment plans. Luckily, opioids are not the only, nor always the best, defense against pain.
One patient who avoided the negative side effects of long-term opioid use was Beth Hunt. Beth was living life as a new mom when a horrible accident crushed her leg below the knee. She was flown to the nearest trauma center and immediately rushed into emergency surgery. She remained in intensive care for two weeks while she underwent multiple additional surgeries.
As you can imagine, Beth’s pain was excruciating. To manage the pain, she was given IV opioids 24 hours a day for the next three and a half months. During that 90-day period, Beth became somewhat dependent on the medication and even began anticipating the time for her next dose. This is a strong sign a patient is becoming physically dependent on the opioid. Concerned about the risks of long-term opioid use, Beth and her family came to me and we laid out a pain management plan.
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