opioid crisis Archives

Land of plenty (of opioids)

Aug. 24, 2020—Surgical patients are being given more opioids than they need for postsurgical pain management, raising the risk of addiction.

Opioid prescriptions after childbirth linked to increased risk of overdose, persistent use

Jun. 9, 2020—Women who are prescribed opioids after childbirth have an increased risk of persistent opioid use or other serious opioid-related events, including overdose, in their first year postpartum, according to a new study by Vanderbilt University Medical Center researchers. This is true regardless of whether the woman had a vaginal delivery or a cesarean section.

Women in criminal justice system less likely to receive evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder

May. 18, 2020—Pregnant women involved in the criminal justice system are disproportionately not receiving medications for opioid use disorder, as compared to their peers, according to a Vanderbilt-led study published today in PLOS Medicine.

Study finds newborn opioid withdrawal rates show evidence of stabilizing

May. 12, 2020—Rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) have plateaued after 20 years of increasing frequency across the country, according to a new study published in Health Affairs. NAS is a withdrawal syndrome experienced by some opioid-exposed newborns after birth.

Safeguarding opioids a concern as children may have more access with families at home due to COVID-19

Apr. 22, 2020—A new poll from the Vanderbilt Center for Child Health Policy found that few Tennessee parents take steps to safeguard opioids at home, an important concern when children are spending more time indoors due to COVID-19 social distancing recommendations.

Reducing postoperative opioids

Feb. 24, 2020—An opioid-restrictive prescribing protocol reduced the number of postoperative opioid prescriptions and the oral morphine equivalent per prescription.

Tennessee Receives Grant from Federal Government to Address Opioid Crisis

Dec. 20, 2019—The Division of TennCare will partner with VUMC as part of the MOM program focusing on 26 rural and urban counties to improve the outcomes for women with opioid use disorder and their infants.

Multisite study focuses on opioid use during pregnancy

Dec. 5, 2019—The Vanderbilt Maternal Addiction Recovery Program is participating in a 12-site clinical trial that will compare two forms of the medication buprenorphine in treating opioid use disorder during pregnancy, and the results could have a potentially significant impact on clinical practice.

Project seeks to enhance opioid care for infants

Oct. 10, 2019—The number of opioid-exposed infants who were connected, along with their families, to outside resources upon discharge from the hospital surged in a recent six-month pilot.

New tool helps predict patients’ opioid needs after cesarean section

Aug. 29, 2019—Most women who undergo a cesarean section are sent home with more opioids than they need, but a significant proportion of women use all opioids and report unmet pain needs, according to Sarah Osmundson, MD, MS, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Parental substance use linked to increase in infants in foster care

Jul. 15, 2019—The nation’s opioid crisis is a factor in the recent increase in the number of infants entering the nation’s foster care system, with at least half of all infant placements now a result of parental substance use.