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Story summary
- UCSF researchers published a study that lists non-opioid alternatives for emergency-department pain.
- The review examined medications used at San Francisco General Hospital and surveyed existing literature.
- Authors Akash Shanmugam, a UCSF medical student, and Dr Kathy LeSaint, associate professor of emergency medicine, recommend acetaminophen, ibuprofen, ketamine, an SNRI, and antipsychotics for specific pain types.
- They state that, although opioids remain useful, tailored use of these alternatives can lower opioid reliance without under-treating pain.
