Nudging Our Wayto Opioid ‘Right-Sizing’

摘要

Opioids remain an important part of the pharmacologic armamentarium to treat acute pain. However, the strong association between duration of initial opioid exposure and likelihood ofpersistent and potentially problematic opioid use is well-established. These findings support recommendations to limit the duration of opioid prescriptions, but operationalizing this recommendation in various settings while considering the clinical realities of individual patients presents ongoing challenges. Many people have both acute and chronic pain, pain may be episodic and recurrent, and access to nonpharmacologic pain treatment remains underdeveloped. Ifand how opioids are prescribed is a bespoke negotiation that involves not simply down-sizing, but rightsizing for each individual.