Papers of the Week

One of the unresolved critical issues in opioid safety is defining the risk of developing a long-term opioid use syndrome, such as opioid abuse, opioid use disorder (e.g., addiction, dependence), or opioid-induced hyperalgesia. The existing risk assessment tools do not fare well, and while data point to the duration of the initial oral opioid prescription as the greatest risk contributor, less is known about the influence of the dose and the specific agent involved. Whereas most of the previous research has highlighted ti risk of discharge prescriptions, insight into the risk of developing one of these syndromes after acute opioid administration in the emergency department (ED) remains murky.