Prescription of Opioid Analgesics †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Prescription of Opioid Analgesics. Answer: Introduction Prescription drug abuse is in the increase and it is now a global health concern. It has been reported that more Australians are dying from prescriptions than illegal heroin (Larney, et al, 2017). Prescribe opioids are drugs that are prescribed by doctors or health physicians in order to treat a health condition. Most of them are prescription medications meant to relieve pain. Use of these drugs have been on tremendous increase over last couple of decades worldwide (Martins, et al, 2015). It was reported that there were 180,000 deaths resulting from prescription opioid overdose between 1999 and 2015, in America. Traditionally, use of powerful pain killers was exclusively on cancer patients but has now become a mainstream for all to use (Blanch, Pearson, Haber, 2014). In Australia the use of opioids have been in the increase as well. The number of Australians using prescribed opioids have quadrupled in the last decade. Research data has shown that prescription opioid use has been on the rise in Australia. According to national Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS), 4.8 % of Australian adults were found to have used pharmaceuticals for non-medical reasons in last 12 months which was an increase from 3.8% in 2004. Analysis of data from ABS figures and National Drug and Alcohol Research Center show that 68% of 668 overdose deaths were related to pharmaceutical prescribed opioids use. This was a robust increase in comparison to the situation in 1990s where opioids deaths mostly emanated from illicit drug use. Death rates among addicts have been on increase since 2007. It was found to be highest in age brackets between 35 and 44 year which represents 40%, followed by age brackets 25-34 and 45-54, both of which represent 27%. Death rate was found to be least in age bracket between 14 -15 which represented 6%. Possible causes for increased use of prescribe opioids Longer cancer survival periods is closely related with increased use of prescribe opioids. Because of the nature of cancer treatment methods, most of chronic pain type of cancer patient always find themselves in constant use of opioids (Jones, Mogali Comer, 2012). This has significantly boosted the increase of use of these drugs. Like any other developing nation, Australia has an aging population which suffer chronic pains resulting from conditions such as arthritis and fibromyalgia (Campbell, et al, 2010). Such Pains makes them to look for quicker and easier ways to deal with such conditions. Strong pains associated with arthritis and related conditions make patients to overdose with the intention to completely reducing pains so that they can go back to work and carry on with their normal lives. Changing expectations of young generation to achieve complete relieve of discomfort resulting from pain have caused them to constantly use opioids. Increased availability of opioid as pain relievers has contributed to increased usage. Mild pains such as headaches and slight muscle pains that were traditionally not taken to require medical attention, are now reasons for people to take opioids. Australians affection for mood-altering substances and opioid analgesia can be pointed out as a reason for the increase (Roxburgh, et al, 2011). Launching of aggressive promotion campaigns for analgesic drugs by producing and sales companies has been a big driving factor towards the increased use of prescribe opioids. Such campaigns are propelled by commercial gain interests. There has been some sort of moral amnesty and loose rules governing use of drugs that can be used as medicine. This has been interpreted to mean that opioid use is unrestricted, contributing to increase in usage. Lack of aw areness among members of the public about the effects of abuse of prescribed drugs has contributed to the vast increase in abuse and addiction. Doctors prescriptions are usually not strictly followed as required. Patients will take a few days within prescription only to shovel up to 90 tablets in their mouths some few months later. It has been reported that fear of withdrawal symptoms resulting to more pain has made users reluctant to stop overdosing. Effects of increased use of prescribe opioids. One of the effects of continuous use of prescribe opioids is addiction. Once people make use of painkillers a habit every time a mild pain strikes, the body usually gets used to it and it becomes hard to cope without the drug next time. Furthermore, with time the body will tend to demand continuous increase in dose resulting to addiction (Degenhardt, et al, 2008). Long term effect of using opioids have been related to effects such as breathing problems, confusion, constipation, drowsiness, itching and nausea. According to Dr. Chou, people using opioids will experience these effects more often depending on dosage and frequency of use. A study done in 2003, revealed that 25% of patients using opioids experienced nausea. Sexual functionality of body is affected by increased use of opioids as they appear to lower testosterone which may cause erectile dysfunction in men. Use of opioids have helped illegal drug users to find a runaway path (Compton, Jones, Baldwin, 2016). They tend to supplement their drug needs by use of opioids which they perceive as an option that may get them into less trouble. Consequently drug abuse is on the increase and efforts to prevent it are curtailed. Death is the worst scenario that effect of opioids have caused Australia. It was recorded that 465 oxycodone related deaths happened between 2001 and 2009 in Australia. Conclusion The problem of increased opioid use in Australia is of great interest that need to be addressed. Various reports show that use of these drugs has constantly been in the increase not only in Australia but also in the rest of developed world. Possible causes of the increase are increased number of people relying on opioids to deal with painful medical conditions they are living with. Majority of such users are not fully aware of possible fatal implications long term use of opioids is associated with. It is recommended that use of evidence based guidelines will be of great importance in managing problems associated with opioids. It will also be necessary to adopt real-time monitoring systems that will help doctors and physicians to make more accurate prescription decisions when dealing with opioids. Well laid strategies to reduce usage of opioids need to be put in place and resources to support made available. References Blanch, B., Pearson, S. A., Haber, P. S. (2014). An overview of the patterns of prescription opioid use, costs and related harms in Australia. British journal of clinical pharmacology, 78(5), 1159-1166. Campbell, C. I., Weisner, C., LeResche, L., Ray, G. T., Saunders, K., Sullivan, M. D., ... Von Korff, M. (2010). Age and Gender Trends in Long-Term Opioid Analgesic Use for Noncancer Pain. American Journal of Public Health, 100(12), 2541-2547. Compton, W. M., Jones, C. M., Baldwin, G. T. (2016). Relationship between nonmedical prescription-opioid use and heroin use. N Engl J Med, 2016(374), 154-163. Degenhardt, L., Roxburgh, A., Black, E., Bruno, R., Campbell, G., Kinner, S., Fetherston, J. (2008). The epidemiology of methamphetamine use and harm in Australia. Drug Alcohol Review, 27(3), 243-252. doi:10.1080/09595230801950572 Jones, J. D., Mogali, S., Comer, S. D. (2012). Polydrug abuse: a review of opioid and benzodiazepine combination use. Drug and alcohol dependence, 125(1), 8-18. Larney, S., Hickman, M., Guy, R., Grebely, J., Dore, G. J., Gray, R. T., ... Degenhardt, L. (2017). Estimating the number of people who inject drugs in Australia. BMC Public Health, 171-7. doi: 10.1186/s12889-017-4785-7 Martins, S. S., Sampson, L., Cerd, M., Galea, S. (2015). Worldwide Prevalence and Trends in Unintentional Drug Overdose: A Systematic Review of the Literature. American Journal of Public Health, 105(11), e29-e49 Roxburgh, A., Bruno, R., Larance, B., Burns, L. (2011). Prescription of opioid analgesics and related harms in Australia. The Medical Journal of Australia, 195(5), 280-284.