Surge Of Babies Born Addicted To Opioids Has Outpaced Science Of How To Treat Them
Hospitals around the United States are taking a scattershot approach to treating the tremors, hard-to-soothe crying, diarrhea, and other hallmark symptoms of newborn abstinence syndrome. In other news: a medication-assisted treatment program in Rhode Island jails shows success; public health advocates are concerned with the pick for "drug czar"; the surgeon general has advice about supporting long-time recovery in those battling addiction; senators want information on if new opioid rules are working; and more.
The Associated Press:
How Best To Treat Opioids' Youngest Sufferers? No One Knows
Two babies, born 15 months apart to the same young woman overcoming opioid addiction. Two very different treatments. Sarah Sherbert’s first child was whisked away to a hospital special-care nursery for two weeks of treatment for withdrawal from doctor-prescribed methadone that her mother continued to use during her pregnancy. Nurses hesitated to let Sherbert hold the girl and hovered nervously when she visited to breast-feed. (2/14)
Stat:
A State Offered All Inmates Addiction Treatment. Overdose Deaths Plunged
A first-in-the-nation program offering a range of medications to Rhode Island inmates who are addicted to opioids appears to have lowered the number of overdose deaths among people recently released from jail and prison, researchers reported Wednesday. Experts have long advocated for expanding the use of medication-assisted treatment, or MAT, in correctional facilities, but for the most part, jails and prisons remain treatment deserts. Starting in the middle of 2016, however, Rhode Island started rolling out its program and making available to all inmates the three medications approved to treat opioid use disorder. (Joseph, 2/14)
WBUR:
Rhode Island Study Shows Benefit To Medication-Assisted Addiction Treatment In Jails
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Wednesday, showed a more than 60 percent reduction in opioid overdose deaths among those who were recently incarcerated, after medication-assisted treatments were offered to them behind bars. "This study shows that not only is medication for addiction treatment an evidence-based approach, its doable, feasible within current structures, and an important contribution toward reducing overdose deaths," said lead researcher Traci Green, an associate professor at Brown University and physician at Boston Medical Center. (Becker, 2/14)
Politico Pro:
Pick For 'Drug Czar' Stokes Concerns Over Trump’s Opioid Strategy
President Donald Trump's hand-picked "drug czar" is a Washington lawyer with no public health experience who's been tasked to lead a drug policy office the president has proposed to gut, raising questions about the White House's commitment to fight the opioid crisis and other drug epidemics. Jim Carroll already held three different positions in the Trump administration — most recently deputy to beleaguered White House chief of staff John Kelly — before he was selected to lead the White House Office of National Drug Policy. (Karlin-Smith and Ehley, 2/14)
The Hill:
Surgeon General Offers Advice On Fighting Opioids
The nation’s top doctor offered advice for lawmakers Wednesday on how to help support long-term recovery for people with an addiction, as Congress examines how to curb the opioid epidemic plaguing the country. Connecting people with support services, such as food and housing, pays off, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Wednesday at an event hosted by The Hill. (Roubein, 2/14)
The Hill:
Markey, Paul Want To Know If New Rules Are Helping Opioid Treatment
Two senators are asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if new measures aimed at increasing access to opioid treatment are working. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) worked to pass a provision allowing trained nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe buprenorphine, a type of medication-assisted treatment for an opioid addiction. (Roubein, 2/14)
Reuters:
Minnesota Renews Push For Tax On Prescription Opioids
Citing rising opioid fatalities, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton on Wednesday announced a renewed legislative proposal to tax prescription opioid pills to help fund treatment. Minnesota is one of at least 13 states to have considered an opioid tax in recent years to help pay for the fallout from the United States' opioid epidemic, although none have passed, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. (Kenning, 2/14)
Minnesota Public Radio:
Dayton Wants Big Pharma To Fund Minnesota's Anti-Opioid Battle
Gov. Mark Dayton on Wednesday laid out a broad plan to tackle Minnesota's opioid crisis, including a significant increase in funding for prevention and treatment, and a penny-a-pill fee paid by drug companies to cover costs. The officials called out the pharmaceutical industry for creating the crisis, and urged drug companies to support the legislative efforts. (Collins, 2/14)
Denver Post:
Supervised Injection Site For Drug Users Fails In Colorado Legislature
A Republican-led legislative panel rejected a bipartisan bill Wednesday to allow Denver to create a supervised injection site for drug users, despite pleas from public health experts and relatives of overdose victims. The measure, Senate Bill 40, would have allowed one community in Colorado to create a site where drug users could inject with clean needles under the supervision of staff with medical training who can administer the overdose-antidote naloxone. (Frank, 2/14)
WBUR:
Opioid Overdose Deaths Fell About 8 Percent In 2017 In Mass.
Preliminary data from a new report by the Massachusetts Department of Health shows deaths from opioid overdoses fell slightly in the state from 2016 to 2017. In total, DPH estimated there were 178 fewer opioid overdose deaths in 2017 from 2016, an 8.3 percent decrease. (Bebinger, 2/14)
