As the pain pill Zohydro hits the market, the opioid epidemic continues with veterans remaining high at-risk. A recent report provided by the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAOM) found that half of veterans prescribed medical opioids for pain continue to chronically use (more than 90 days) the drugs.
According to research drawn from national Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) data, of 959,226 veterans who received opioid prescriptions, 502,634 (52%) chronically used opioids. Some factors that were most likely to be present in veterans who chronically used opioids were PTSD, tobacco use, being married, having multiple pain conditions, the use of more than one type of opioid medication, and using an opioid dose above 100 mg per day. (Science Daily)
The study included veterans that had a minimum of two outpatient visits at a VHA facility in 2009 and at least 90 days of opioid use within a 180-day period. It aimed to understand how opioid abuse problems are striking so many veterans. It also added to a body of scientific literature that exposes the risks of prescribing opioids on any long-term basis.
This report comes after last month’s FDA approval that made available Zohydro, an extended release pain medication that is five to 10 times stronger (in its highest dose) than Vicodin, a widely prescribed hydrocodone pill. The FDA it touting the new drug as “unique” because unlike other hydrocodone drugs, Zohydro doesn’t contain acetaminophen, which can be toxic to the liver in high doses. However, the drug also doesn’t include any “abuse-deterrent formulation,” which surprised many officials. (Reuters)
And according to some poison control experts, it could prove to be quite deadly. In fact, for an adult who lacks opioid tolerance, ingesting just two capsules could cause an overdose. And a child could die from just ingesting one capsule. This dangerous drug joins the list of those like Oxycontin and Hydrocodone, drugs that continue to be problematic for abuse and lead to more and more overdoses and deaths each year.
