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Given the high morbidity and mortality associated with opioid use disorder (OUD), hospitalization represents a critical period to stabilize, treat, and provide ongoing care transitions for patients with OUD. In this review, a multidisciplinary group summarized existing evidence and made the following recommendations for inpatients with OUD:
To build trust, clinicians should ask permission to discuss substance abuse, use nonstigmatizing language, acknowledge patient expertise, and reliably communicate care plans.
Treat acute pain, and be mindful that some patients might have high opioid tolerance that requires higher dosing, especially if they have been using fentanyl.
Recognize and treat acute withdrawal early. Treatment options include oral m…