CDC Proposes Softer Guidance on Opioid Prescriptions
By Mike Stobbe
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has proposed changing — and in some instances, softening — guidelines for U.S. doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid painkillers. The proposed changes, contained in a 229-page draft update in the Federal Register, would roll back some suggested limits on the drugs. The CDC would no longer suggest limiting opioid treatment for acute pain to three days; drop the specific recommendation that doctors avoid increasing dosage to a level equivalent to 90 milligrams of morphine per day; encourage doctors to consider having patients undergo urine tests to see if they are using other controlled and illicit drugs, but no longer would call on having such testing done annually; and urge doctors not to abruptly halt treatment for patients receiving higher doses of opioids, unless there are indications of a life-threatening danger. The proposal's publication opens a 60-day public comment period.
Read more on the Associated Press.