Author Interviews, Gastrointestinal Disease, Opiods / 24.05.2021
Significant Reduction in Overall Emergency Department Costs and Patient Length of Stay When Treating Opioid-Induced Constipation with FDA-Approved Medications
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Frank Peacock, MD, FACEP, FACC
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Associate Chair
Research Director, Department of Emergency Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Emergency medicine (EM) physicians, like myself, are always looking for ways to improve the patient experience. Often times, we will encounter a patient in the emergency department (ED) who is presenting with one of the most common side effects of opioids, which is opioid-induced constipation (OIC). OIC impacts 40-80% of patients on long-term opioid therapy[i],[ii] and may lead to emergency room visits which are associated with a significant burden on patients and the healthcare system. We wanted to compare the impact of treating OIC patients with FDA-approved prescription medications for OIC versus the impact of not treating OIC patients with an FDA-approved prescription medication for OIC in the ED setting to better understand the impact to overall ED costs and the length of stay for a hospitalized patient.
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