The Opioid Crisis: a Comprehensive Overview

• Published in: Current pain and headache reports Vol. 22; no. 3; p. 16
• Main Authors: Vadivelu, Nalini, Kai, Alice M., Kodumudi, Vijay, Sramcik, Julie, Kaye, Alan D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Chronic Pain - drug therapy; Drug overdose; Humans; Internal Medicine; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Narcotics; Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Other Pain (A Kaye and N Vadivelu; Pain; Pain Medicine; Prescription Drug Misuse - mortality; Prescription Drug Misuse - statistics & numerical data; Prescription Drug Misuse - trends; Section Editors; Topical Collection on Other Pain; United States - epidemiology; Pain; Health policy; Opioids; Overdose deaths
• ISSN: 1531-3433; 1534-3081; 1534-3081
• DOI: 10.1007/s11916-018-0670-z

Purpose of Review The opioid crisis most likely is the most profound public health crisis our nation has faced. In 2015 alone, 52,000 people died of drug overdoses, with over 30,000 of those people dying from opioid drugs. A recent community forum led by the Cleveland Clinic contrasted this yearly death rate with the loss of 58,000 American lives in 4 years of the Vietnam War. The present review describes the origins of this opioid epidemic and provides context for our present circumstances. Recent Findings Alarmingly, the overwhelming majority of opioid abusers begin their addiction with prescription medications, primarily for chronic pain. Chronic postoperative pain, which occurs in 10–50% of surgical patients, is a major concern in many types of surgery. Nationwide, the medical community has made it a priority to ensure that postsurgical analgesia is sufficient to control pain without increasing non-medically appropriate opioid use. Summary The opioid epidemic remains a significant pressing issue and will not resolve easily. Numerous factors, including the inappropriate prescription of opioids, lack of understanding of the potential adverse effects of long-term therapy, opioid misuse, abuse, and dependence, have contributed to the current crisis.