CEACCP: Chronic pain and prescription opioid misuse (Read) for Nurses

Permission has been granted by Elsevier on behalf of the British Journal of Anaesthesia to link directly to articles and MCQs from BJA Education on e-Learning Anaesthesia.

Key points

• Opioids must only be prescribed after careful physical, psychosocial, and vocational assessment.
• Misuse of prescription opioids can be reduced by good prescribing practice.
• Patients on prescription opioids must be regularly assessed.
• Oral or transdermal route of administration should be used; parenteral, sublingual, or transnasal routes should be avoided.
• Meperidine is particularly unsuitable for patients with persistent pain.
• There are factors that might predict whether a patient is likely to misuse prescription opioids.
• Management of prescription opioid misuse requires prompt intervention and a multidisciplinary approach.