Scratching the Surface of Prescription Opioids and Abuse
By Anjana Kundu, MBBS, DA and Rita Agarwal, MD, FAAP
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, it is highly unlikely that you have been able to escape the newspaper stories about the growing and intertwined problem of prescription opioids and abuse in the United States. As clinicians, parents, community members, we are faced with the dilemma of compassion for the treatment of pain and a responsibility to minimize abuse and diversion of this unique class of highly effective yet highly addictive medications. This edition of the newsletter attempts to scratch the surface and bring you information about the legislative updates to recognize and intercept this social, economic and health problem. The article included highlights the scope of the problem, legislative efforts and guidelines for clinicians, and aids the clinicians participation as active partners in finding and becoming a solution to the opioid abuse issue.
This edition of the newsletter, once again, also features updates and review of the recent and ongoing activities of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regarding pediatric pain management and prevention of opioid misuse and abuse. An excellent article by Dr. Franklin Chiao reviews some of the low-cost, low tech, non-pharmacological interventions indicated for neonatal pain.
If you were unable to attend the ASA Annual Meeting or missed the pediatric pain medicine abstracts because of schedule conflicts, you need not fret. Courtesy of Dr. Madankumar Sathyamoorthy and Dr. Mark Thompson, we are able to bring you a very thoughtful review of the abstracts relevant to pediatric pain medicine presented at the ASA Annual Meeting in San Diego in October 2015.
Also included is your personal invitation and a preview of the SPPM 3rd Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs March 31, 2016. The meeting proudly presents internationally renowned speakers such as Dr. Tony Yaksh and Dr. KJS (Sunny) Anand. Don’t miss reading the detailed message from Dr. Yuan Chi Lin providing many more pertinent details about why you should not miss this day packed with incredibly high yield scientific and educational programming, as well as the opportunity to earn MOCA Patient Safety credits. The meeting will be a wonderful opportunity to learn, re-connect or meet new colleagues, contribute and join committees.
In her President’s Message, Dr. Sabine Kost-Byerly highlights the achievements of our young society thanks to the efforts of its growing and productive members, collaborations with other societies and guidance from the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA). She also urges you to join, contribute and take an active role in the growth of your society, the SPPM.
Last but not the least, we continue to keep our Facebook page updated with some of the educational materials, news items and discussions or relevant topics. We encourage you to frequent our Facebook page, leave comments, suggestions, questions and start discussions, or just check it out for fun.
We once again invite you to please consider contributing to the newsletter. Bring us your ideas, suggestions, case reports, reviews, interesting articles, book reviews, article reviews, musings, or thoughts on additional topics of interest to the SPPM Communications Committee. Why stop there? Better yet, join a committee, they are open to ALL members. Stay connected, and stay engaged!
We Look forward to seeing you all in Colorado Springs soon. As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us at:
- Rita Agarwal, MD, FAAP: [email protected]
- Anjana Kundu, MBBS, MD, ABIHM: [email protected]
