opioids

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.

The AAMC Opioid Education Challenge Grant Program has selected five institutions or partnering institutions to receive an award of up to $25,000 each for opioid education training.

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.

Babies born after being exposed to both opioids and benzodiazepines before birth are more likely to have severe drug withdrawal, requiring medications like morphine for treatment, compared to infants exposed to opioids alone.

New Bridge Clinic links patients with substance use disorder to follow-up care upon discharge.

Understanding how natural brain chemicals with pain-relieving properties interact with administered opioids may guide personalized approaches for pain management.

An Addiction Consultation Service, specialized training for physicians and changes in the language used in addiction cases are the first of many in a series of new clinical approaches being offered around addiction care as Vanderbilt University Medical Center — and the rest of the country — see an increased demand for such services.