Efficacy of Prescribed Opioids for Acute Pain after Being Discharged from the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Raoul DaoustJean PaquetMartin MarquisDavid WilliamsonGuillaume FontaineJean-Marc ChaunyAmélie FrégeauAaron M OrkinSuneel UpadhyeJustine LessardAlexis Cournoyer

Published in: Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (2023)

For ED-discharged patients with acute musculoskeletal pain, opioids do not seem to be more effective than non-opioid analgesics. However, this absence of efficacy seems to be driven by codeine, as opioids other than codeine are more effective than non-opioids (mostly NSAIDs). Further prospective studies on the efficacy of short-term opioid use after ED discharge (excluding codeine), measuring patient-centered outcomes, adverse events, and potential misuse, are needed.

Keyphrases

chronic pain
pain management
emergency department
liver failure
risk assessment
hepatitis b virus
spinal cord injury
insulin resistance
climate change
skeletal muscle
electronic health record
postoperative pain
mechanical ventilation