Death and disability resulting from the use of prescription and street opioids has skyrocketed in the past 20 years, and emergency departments have seen a sharp escalation in visits related to opioid use disorder, opioid overdose, and chronic pain. This presentation will describe the fundamental principles around the prevention, identification, and treatment of patients with OUD, with an emphasis on the first-line therapy buprenorphine, which protects OUD patients from withdrawal, cravings and overdose, if effectively initiated from the ED.
Presenter: Dr. Reuben Strayer, MD, FRCPC, FAAEM, FASAM, Author of emupdates.com and Emergency Physician based in New York City