CDC Recommendations for Prescribing Opioids for Pain — Continued Recalibration

The U.S. CDC reaffirmed its 2016 guideline and added more details about careful assessment of risks, benefits, and alternatives.

Sponsoring Organization: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Target Population: Adult outpatients with acute, subacute, and chronic pain not due to sickle cell disease, cancer, or end-of-life care.

Background

In response to what CDC authors perceived as an inaccurate and sometimes inappropriate interpretation of their 2016 Opioid Prescribing Guideline (MMWR Recomm Rep 2016; 65:1), the CDC has issued an updated version of the guideline. Some clinicians assumed that the previous CDC guideline was an inflexible prohibition of opioid use that would cause great harm to many patients. These updated recommendations are based on new studies that address opioid tapering and discontinuation, patient access issues, and comparisons of op…

Reviewing Author

Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

CDC Recommendations for Prescribing Opioids for Pain — Continued Recalibration

Topics

Background

Reviewing Author