Evan D. Kharasch, MD, PhD, and L. Michael Brunt, MD, an anesthesiologist and surgeon at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, respectively, recommended in the journal Anesthesiology that surgeons consider cutting back on the number of take-home opioid pills prescribed to patients after surgery, as reported by The Source.
Here are five things to know:
1. Drs. Kharasch and Brunt's recommendations coincide with newly released federal guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
2. The physicians are also encouraging anesthesiologists and surgeons to re-evaluate how pain-relief drugs are used not just after surgery but during operations.
3. The CDC estimates the misuse of opioids costs the U.S. economy more than $70 billion annually, including healthcare costs, lost time at work and criminal justice costs.
4. Dr. Kharasch earned his medical degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Evanston, Ill., and completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Washington Hospitals in Seattle.
5. Dr. Brunt earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore and completed his residency at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.