Acute Opiate Overdose: An Update on Management Strategies in Emergency Department and Critical Care Unit

Conclusions: Worldwide, approximately 69,000 people die of OOD each year, and approximately 15 million people have opioid addiction. In the United States, death from OOD has increased almost 5-fold from 2001 to 2013. OOD leading to intensive care unit admission has increased by 50% from 2009 to 2015. At the same time, the mortality associated with these admissions has doubled. The management strategies include airway management, use of reversal agents, assessing and treating coingestions and associated complications, treatment of opioid withdrawal with alpha-agonists, and psychosocial support to help with opiate addiction and withdrawal. This warrants awareness among clinicians regarding the adverse effects associated with opioid use, management strategies, and calls for a multidisciplinary approach to treating these patients.
Source: American Journal of Therapeutics - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Tags: Systematic Reviews Source Type: research