Topics: Anxiety | Clinical practice | Deprescribing | Free Articles | Pharmacology | polypharmacy | prescribing patterns | Risk Management | Sleep | Sleep Disorders

Once heralded for their relative safety compared to benzodiazepines, the “Z-drugs” are now known to be one of the most common causes of adverse drug events. Here we review the risks of Z-drugs and highlight updated dosing recommendations for zolpidem.

Topics: Deprescribing | gabapentin | Opioid epidemic | Opioid Use Disorder | Opioids | Pain

Clinicians are increasingly turning to gabapentinoids as non-opioid alternatives for pain treatment. Yet we may be inadvertently introducing new risks in so doing. Dr. Vickers-Smith reviews current epidemiology of gabapentinoid use and offers some clues regarding how to turn the tide on gabapentin misuse.

Topics: Buprenorphine | Coronavirus | COVID-19 | Methadone | Opioid epidemic | Opioid Use Disorder | Opioids | Outpatient | pandemic | Patient relationship

In the context of a pandemic, how can and should our practices change to continue to meet the needs of patients with opioid use disorder? We summarize recent changes to the regulations surrounding medications for opioid use disorder: buprenorphine and methadone.

Topics: Clinical practice | Deprescribing | Opioids | Pain | Pharmacology | polypharmacy | prescribing patterns | Risk Management

Muscle relaxants encompass medications with different mechanisms of action—many of which have been used for decades. Yet most are sedating, can have significant side effects, and can interact with opioids and other substances to worsen CNS and respiratory depression.

Topics: Anxiety | Anxiety Disorder | Benzodiazepines | Deprescribing | Generalized Anxiety Disorder | Opioid epidemic | Opioid Use Disorder | Opioids | Overdose | prescribing patterns

Benzodiazepine use is on the rise, and is implicated with a significant portion of opioid-related overdose deaths. Dr. Morford gives the latest on benzodiazepine prevalence and suggests strategies to employ in addiction treatment settings when working with patients who use benzodiazepines.

Topics: Abstinence | E-Cigarettes | Research Update | smoking cessations | tobacco research

Quitting smoking remains extremely difficult. This multicenter randomized controlled trial evaluates the efficacy of using e-cigarettes compared to nicotine replacement among adults (average age 41) seeking help to quit smoking.

Topics: Cocaine | Pharmacology | Research | Research Update

Small studies have shown promise for treating cocaine use disorder with combination amphetamine salts/topiramate. In this larger trial, the combination was tested against a placebo.

Topics: Alcohol | Alcohol Use | Alcohol use disorder | Pharmacology | Research | Research Update

Previous trials of baclofen for alcohol use disorder have used fixed or rather low doses, and the results have been mixed. This was the first randomized trial to allow up-titration of the dose depending on the patient’s response.

Topics: Alcohol | Alcohol Use | Alcohol use disorder | gabapentin | Pharmacology | Research | Research Update

Which patients with alcohol use disorder might benefit from gabapentin most? This randomized controlled trial focused on gabapentin’s impact on alcohol use among patients with alcohol use disorder and who had also had alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the past.

Topics: CME Post-Test

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