Strategies for Appropriate Opioid Prescribing: The Florida Requirement _ _____________________________
Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain- Revised (SOAPP-R) The Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain- Revised (SOAPP-R) is a patient-administered, 24-item screen with questions addressing history of alcohol/substance use, psychologic status, mood, cravings, and stress. Like the ORT, the SOAPP-R helps assess risk level of aberrant drug-related behaviors and the appropriate extent of monitoring [67; 68]. Screening Instrument or Substance Abuse Potential (SISAP) The Screening Instrument or Substance Abuse Potential (SISAP) tool is a self-administered, five-item questionnaire addressing history developed to predict the risk of opioid misuse. The SISAP is used to identify patients with a history of alcohol/substance abuse and improve pain management by facilitating focus on the appropriate use of opioid analgesics and therapeutic outcomes in the majority of patients who are not at risk of opioid abuse, while carefully monitoring those who may be at greater risk [69]. CAGE and CAGE-AID The original CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, and Eye- opener) Questionnaire consisted of four questions designed to help clinicians determine the likelihood that a patient was misusing or abusing alcohol. These same four questions were modified to create the CAGE-AID (adapted to include drugs), revised to assess the likelihood of current substance abuse [70]. Diagnosis, Intractability, Risk, and Efficacy (DIRE) Tool The Diagnosis, Intractability, Risk, and Efficacy (DIRE) risk assessment tool is a clinician-rated questionnaire that is used to predict patient compliance with long-term opioid therapy [71]. Patients scoring lower on the DIRE tool are poor candidates for long-term opioid analgesia. Mental Health Screening Tool The Mental Health Screening Tool is a five-item screen that asks about a patient’s feelings of happiness, calmness, peacefulness, nervousness, and depression in the past month [72]. A lower score on this tool is an indicator that the patient should be referred to a specialist for pain management. CREATING A TREATMENT PLAN Opioid therapy should be presented as a trial for a pre-defined period (e.g., ≤30 days). The goals of treatment should be established with all patients prior to the initiation of opioid therapy, including reasonable improvements in pain, function, depression, anxiety, and avoidance of unnecessary or excessive medication use [1; 44]. The treatment plan should describe therapy selection, measures of progress, and other diagnostic evaluations, consultations, referrals, and therapies. All patients prescribed an opioid for pain related to a traumatic injury (severity score ≥9) should be concurrently prescribed an antagonist (e.g., naloxone) [54].
In opioid-naïve patients, start at the lowest possible dose and titrate to effect. Dosages for opioid-tolerant patients should always be individualized and titrated by efficacy and tolerability [1]. The need for frequent progress and benefit/ risk assessments during the trial should be included in patient education. Patients should also have full knowledge of the warning signs and symptoms of respiratory depression. Prescribers should be knowledgeable of federal and state opioid prescribing regulations. Issues of equianalgesic dosing, close patient monitoring during all dose changes, and incomplete cross-tolerance with opioid conversion should be considered. If necessary, treatment may be augmented, with preference for nonopioid and immediate-release opioids over long-acting/ extended-release opioids. Taper opioid dose when no longer needed [63].
Non-Opioid Pain Management Options Nonpharmacologic Approaches
Several nonpharmacologic approaches are therapeutic complements to pain-relieving medication, lessening the need for higher doses and perhaps minimizing side effects. These interventions can help decrease pain or distress that may be contributing to the pain sensation. Approaches include palliative radiotherapy, complementary/alternative methods, manipulative and body-based methods, and cognitive/behavioral techniques. The choice of a specific nonpharmacologic intervention is based on the patient’s preference, which, in turn, is usually based on a successful experience in the past. Methods to provide distraction from pain come in a wide variety of methods, including reciting poetry, meditating with a calm phrase, watching television or movies, playing cards, visiting with friends, or participating in crafts. Music therapy and art therapy are also becoming more widely used as nonpharmacologic options for pain management. Non-Opioid Analgesics Nonopioid analgesics, such as aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are primarily used for mild pain and may also be helpful as coanalgesics for moderate and severe pain. Acetaminophen is among the safest of analgesic agents, but it has essentially no anti-inflammatory effect. Toxicity is a concern at high doses, and the maximum recommended dose is 3–4 g per day [73]. Acetaminophen should be avoided or given at lower doses in people with a history of alcohol abuse or renal or hepatic insufficiency [73]. NSAIDs are most effective for pain associated with inflammation. Among the commonly used NSAIDs are ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), and indomethacin (Indocin). There are several classes of NSAIDs, and the response differs among patients; trials of drugs for an individual patient may be necessary to determine which drug
48
MDFL0627
Powered by FlippingBook