CE: Acute Pain Management for Inpatients with Opioid Use Disorder

Abstract

Like most hospital inpatients, those with opioid use disorder (OUD) often experience acute pain during their hospital stay and may require opioid analgesics. Unfortunately, owing to clinicians' misconceptions about opioids and negative attitudes toward patients with OUD, such patients may be inadequately medicated and thus subjected to unrelieved pain and unnecessary suffering. This article reviews current literature on the topic of acute pain management for inpatients with OUD and dispels common myths about opioids and OUD.