Tapentadol the most used opioid in Australia, study finds
Tapentadol has overtaken oxycodone as the most prescribed opioid in Australia, according to research that shows its use increased fivefold between 2015 and 2022. The…
Tag: opioids
Changing face of overdose: Patients in their 70s dying from stimulant drug misuse, says expert
“When I first started researching overdoses, I was told there was nothing to study, that young people dropped down dead from overdoses because they didn’t…
PBAC wants ‘critical’ opioid shortage fixed, warning doctors’ care options are being compromised
Pain and palliative care doctors want Federal Government action to stop the “egregious” behaviour of pharmaceutical companies pulling drugs from the market with little warning.…
Risk of addiction higher in month after opioid initiation compared with long-term use, Aussie research suggests
Patients who have initiated opioids in the previous month are at a higher risk of an opioid use disorder diagnosis compared with patients who have…
Opioid prescribing controls almost halved oxycodone use, study suggests
Oxycodone use fell 45% between 2019 and 2020, with no significant rebound since, Australian wastewater analysis suggests. Researchers have attributed the decline to policies including…
Naloxone may improve cardiac arrest survival even in non-overdose cases, study suggests
Overdose reversal agent naloxone can improve survival in drug-related cardiac arrests and possibly other cardiac arrests, a retrospective cohort study suggests. The study is the…
‘I don’t want to tell families there aren’t any options’: Palliative care’s opioid crisis
Doctors have warned the Australian market will lose around 15 opioid analgesics later in the year, with one palliative paediatrician saying the alternatives may not…
Tapentadol scripts rise by 40% amid overall decline in opioid prescribing
Tapentadol is the only PBS-listed opioid to see a significant growth in prescriptions over recent years, amid an overall decline for all other subsidised opioid…
More than 30 doctors reported to AHPRA for not checking SafeScript software
Victoria’s Department of Health is referring dozens of doctors to AHPRA each year for failing to check the SafeScript real-time prescription monitoring software, officials have…
Opioid initiation leads to sustained use in only 3% of patients: Aussie study
Most patients started on opioids use them short term, with minimal evidence of prolonged use over five years, according to an Australian-first study. The analysis…
