Do prescribed opioids increase self-harm and suicide?

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Study of 3 million Australian adults prescribed opioids, 84% of self-harm events and 81% of suicides didn’t involve opioids. Challenges belief that prescribing increases self-harm risk.

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Fatal drug overdose in healthcare workers: occupational hazards and systemic factors

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Healthcare workers have twice the risk of fatal drug overdose compared to other workers. This study of 58 coroner reports found that occupational hazards (workplace access to drugs, clinical knowledge, prescribing power) combined with mental health problems and work stress contributed to these deaths, highlighting the need for systemic workplace interventions.

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Acute pain management following dental extraction

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This review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of pharmacological treatments for the management of pain subsequent to simple and surgical tooth extraction included 85 RCTs. There was moderate- and high-certainty evidence that for surgical dental extractions that ibuprofen 200 to 400 mg plus acetaminophen 500 to 1,000 mg was the most effective for pain relief.

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Oxycodone for acute dental pain?

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This review of the efficacy of oxycodone for post-operative acute dental pain included 13 studies. the findings showed that NSAIDs are generally superior for post-surgical dental pain, with a better adverse effect profile,so the need for oxycodone in dentistry is limited.

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Pulpal anaesthesia for symptomatic irreversible pulpitis in mandibular molars

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Colin Levey takes a look at this network meta-analysis of 46 RCTs assessing techniques and drugs for achieving pulpal anaesthesia for the non-surgical endodontic treatment of mandibular molars.

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Prescription drug misuse in women: US review inconclusive

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Rob Poole writes his debut elf blog on a recent systematic review of trends in prescription drug misuse among women, which finds a mixed and complex picture with few conclusive findings.

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The US opioid crisis: quantifying the impact

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Emma Wincup examines a recent US cross-sectional study that measures the burden of opioid-related mortality in the United States, which suggests that opioids (prescribed and illicit) could kill nearly half a million people across America over the next decade.

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Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block: improving anaesthetic success in patients with irreversible pulpitis

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This network meta-analysis of oral premedication to improve anaesthetic success of inferior alveolar nerve block in patients with irreversible pulpitis suggest that that oral premedication with dexamethasone, NSAIDs and Tramadol increases the success rate.

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Non-medical use of prescription drugs #NonMedicalDrugs

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Ian Hamilton and Julia Buxton from the University of York preview the #NonMedicalDrugs event that will take place in York on Friday 16th March 2018.

The meeting will bring together people who can offer personal and professional insights of the extent of the issue and how we can support people who develop problems.

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Opiate substitution therapy: supervised-consumption vs take-home doses

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Vicky Carlisle publishes her debut elf blog on a Cochrane review of supervised dosing with long-acting opioid medication in the management of opioid dependence.

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