Opioid Addiction: Anti-Addiction Medicine Given By ER Has High Chances To Stop Drug Abuse

First Posted: Feb 21, 2017 04:00 AM EST
Close

One of the drugs that is seen to have people being addicted to is opioid. Researchers are working hand in hand to stop this unlikely trend. Thus, a new study suggests that people who are addicted to opioids and are being treated in a hospital's emergency department perform better when they undergo medication to reduce the craving for opioids.

The study co-leader who is also the chair of the emergency medicine at the University of Yale, Dr. Gail D'Onofrio, said in a news release that, "The ED [emergency department] visit is an ideal opportunity to identify patients with opioid use disorder and initiate treatment and direct referral, similar to best practices for other diseases, such as high blood pressure and diabetes."

In the study, the researchers looked at the files of 290 people addicted to opioids who went to the emergency department. They have gotten one of the three treatments. Of such is a referral to addiction treatment services, discussion of treatment that includes a short interview or a brief interview and the medication of buprenorphine. The patients who were given the medication also continued to receive treatment with their primary care doctor.

The study results that have been published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that after two months, patients who have received the buprenorphine were more likely to be informal addiction treatment. The patients also reported the reduction of opioid use compared to the other two groups.

Meanwhile, the United States is currently facing the unprecedented opioid epidemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the CDC said that deaths involving opioid drug overdose are six out of 10 Americans. Also, 91 Americans die from prescribed opioids or heroin every day, according to Consumer Health Day.

Furthermore, according to the CDC, deaths from prescription painkillers such as Oxycontin or oxycodone as well as heroin and methadone have quadrupled since 1999.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

©2017 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
Real Time Analytics