Dying from an accidental opioid overdose in the United States is now a risk that appears fifth on the list of predictable deaths, a ranking compiled by the National Safety Council.
First come cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and chronic respiratory diseases and traffic accidents.
Rampant opioid use and related risk has surpassed that of being in a motor vehicle accident in the ranking: 1 in 96 versus 1 in 103, with the data referring to 2017.
From a note released by the NCS itself, it is learned that the crisis is getting worse and worse, mainly due to the illegal use of fentanyl. But increasing consumption and contributing to the crisis are not only illegal drugs but also prescription drugs .
The pharmacological risk
Opioid misuse, as the U.S. Department of Health recalls, probably dates back to the 1990s. At the time, pharmaceutical companies reassured consumers by ruling out the risks of opioid addiction, and at the same time doctors began prescribing them in large quantities. It soon went from use toabuse. And today that passage presents the bill.
To fight the pain
Opioid medications are an important resource for the treatment and management of pain, such as after surgery or in cases of cancer, especially for short periods of time, but they carry risks.
Several side effects can occur including the risk of nausea, vomiting, depression, confusion, drowsiness, as well as the possibility of physical dependence. Substances such as morphine, codeine, oxycodone, methadone, tramadol and fentanyl are typical prescription opioids
What about in Italy?
In Italy on the back of this, some fear that this class of drugs may even be over-prescribed.
But on the other hand, it would be wrong to believe that theopioid epidemic is a phenomenon that should not concern us.
“While it is true that in Italy we are not witnessing the epidemic of opioid-related deaths that has been affecting the United States for years, it is true, however, that the problem is also present here and that toxicology units are dealing with cases of opioid-related issues“, Guido Mannaioni of the University of Florence and director of medical toxicology at the Careggi University Hospital Company tells Wired.co.uk.
Pain treatment should certainly follow the guidance already given in the World Health Organization guidelines.
