Opioids, Benzodiazepines Most Common Causes of Child Hospitalization for Unsupervised Ingestion Pediatrics Emergency department visits and subsequent hospitalizations of young children after unsupervised ingestions of prescription medications are increasing despite widespread use of child-resistant packaging and caregiver education efforts. Opioids and benzodiazepines were the most commonly implicated medication classes; focusing unsupervised ingestion prevention efforts on medications with the highest hospitalization rates may efficiently achieve large public health impact...
A Review of Buprenorphine Diversion and Misuse: The Current Evidence Base and Experiences From Around the World Journal of Addiction Medicine (free ASAM member resource) This narrative review defines the behaviors of diversion and misuse, examines how the pharmacology of buprenorphine alone and in combination with naloxone influence its abuse liability, and describes the epidemiological data on buprenorphine diversion and intravenous misuse, risk factors for its intravenous misuse, and the unintended consequences of misuse and diversion. Physician practices to prevent, screen for, and therapeutically respond to these behaviors, which are a form of medication nonadherence, are discussed, and gaps in knowledge are identified...
Harvard University: Drug and Alcohol Policies Harvard This policy on drugs and alcohol from Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences provides an excellent example of a comprehensive document on the subject. It could be considered a valuable reference.
Pediatricians Support Bill to Require Childproof Nicotine Refills The Hill A group of pediatricians and other health officials are calling for childproof packaging on liquid nicotine containers used to refill electronic cigarettes, and have written to Florida Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) in support of legislation he introduced last month. His bill would allow the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue new childproof requirements for liquid nicotine containers...
ASAM Revised Naloxone Policy ASAM ASAM recently issued a press release announcing revisions to its public policy statement on "The Use of Naloxone for the Prevention of Drug Overdose Deaths."
Continuous Quality Improvement in Addiction Treatment Settings: Design and Intervention Protocol of a Group Randomized Pilot Study Addiction Science & Clinical Practice This study offers a much-needed, innovative strategy for implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) in SUD treatment settings. While CQI may offer ways to improve SUD treatment, we cannot assume that it can be easily transported into practice or that it will have the same impact as it has had in more traditional healthcare settings. Organizations do not always adopt new practices even when they are known to improve outcomes. Further, attention needs to be paid to factors both at the individual and organizational levels that impact the degree to which new practices are adopted and implemented...
Benzodiazepine Use and Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease: Case-Control Study British Medical Journal Benzodiazepine use is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The stronger association observed for long term exposures reinforces the suspicion of a possible direct association, even if benzodiazepine use might also be an early marker of a condition associated with an increased risk of dementia. Unwarranted long term use of these drugs should be considered as a public health concern...
Why Do Patients Stay in Opioid Maintenance Treatment? Substance Use and Misuse A region-wide anonymous survey was performed to evaluate subjective factors that could potentially contribute to growing numbers of patients in OMT in the city of Berlin, Germany. In the survey, performed in 2011, 46 staff members and 986 patients participated. Both patients and staff members report beneficial effects of OMT on physical and mental health, and reduction of criminality. Patients on average consider the detoxification from OMT more difficult than from heroin. Staff members underestimate the wish of patients to reach abstinence of OMT...
Results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health SAMHSA This report and the detailed tables present a first look at results from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an annual survey of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population of the United States aged 12 years old or older. Both the report and detailed tables present national estimates of rates of use, numbers of users, and other measures related to illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco products, with a focus on trends between 2012 and 2013 and from 2002 to 2013, as well as differences across population subgroups in 2013.
Topiramate Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder in Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research The course of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is frequently and severely complicated by co-occurring alcohol use disorder (AUD), yet there are few reports of pharmacologic treatments for these comorbid conditions. The objective of this pilot study was to obtain a preliminary assessment of the efficacy and safety of topiramate in reducing alcohol use and PTSD symptoms in veterans with both disorders.
Fears Rise of Medication Misuse by the Elderly The Wall Street Journal Many seniors develop addictions to prescription drugs. Others are taking medication that is having little effect or unintentional effects, either because they are taking it for too long, they were prescribed too big a dose, or it is reacting badly with other medications. The misuse of medications "is a rising problem in seniors as the baby-boom generation ages," says David Oslin, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine...
ASAM Congratulates Michael Botticelli on ONDCP Nomination ASAM ASAM leadership cannot think of a "...more deserving and well-qualified individual to lead the Administration’s drug policy reformation, including its efforts to educate Americans about the disease of addiction and the benefits of prevention, clinically-based treatment and recovery support services [than Mr. Botticelli]."
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The views and positions of any content published in ASAM Weekly are not necessarily endorsed by ASAM nor a reflection of ASAM's beliefs and policies. The features are presented as a summary of the contemporary issues being represented and expressed in scientific, governmental, commercial, and media sources across the specialty field of addiction medicine. Contact ASAM Weekly with any comments or feedback.