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Alleviating Symptoms of Withdrawal from an Opioid
INTRODUCTION: Patients who are discharged following surgery on an oral opioid, and who have taken the drug for 2 or more weeks often experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to discontinue the drug. CASE REPORT: Three weeks after discharge, a 44-year-old female patient decided to reduce her oxyc...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Springer Healthcare Communications
2012
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4107861/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25134933 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40122-012-0004-5 |
Sumario: | INTRODUCTION: Patients who are discharged following surgery on an oral opioid, and who have taken the drug for 2 or more weeks often experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to discontinue the drug. CASE REPORT: Three weeks after discharge, a 44-year-old female patient decided to reduce her oxycodone (OxyContin(®)) dosage from 20 mg three times a day to 20 mg two times a day. She experienced severe withdrawal symptoms. METHOD: To assist her in withdrawing from the remainder of the drug, a protocol using ondansetron was developed. RESULTS: After 10 days, the patient was opioid and withdrawal-symptom free. CONCLUSION: Use of ondansetron along with tapering of the opioid was safe and effective in preventing further withdrawal symptoms. This case should stimulate research with a larger, more diverse population including those with both short-term and chronic opioid dependence. |
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