Tag: opioids

Reading of the Week: Placebo & Practice – the New Lancet Psych Paper; Also, Mortality & Opioids and Mental Health Awareness Campaigns

May 14, 2026 /

From the Editor

The tone of our voice when discussing a treatment. The way we emphasize its benefits. Mention of our hopefulness. As clinicians, we are aware that small things can improve patient outcomes. To speak more technically: we harness placebo effects.

In an impressive new Lancet Psychiatry review, Dr. Matthew J. Burke (of the University of Toronto) and his co-authors examine placebo effects with an eye to the implications for clinical practice. They discuss imaging and physiology; they also mention depression and offer suggestions (including, yes, harnessing placebo effects). “The thoughtful application of placebo and nocebo effects has promise in enhancing patient care and treatment outcomes, but more research is needed to validate specific approaches.” We discuss the paper and its implications.

What is the survival rate after an opioid overdose? In a new research letter just published in JAMA, Dr. Robert A. Kleinman (of the University of Toronto) and his co-authors attempt to answer that question. Though they walk on a well-travelled path, they drew on data in this, the era of fentanyl. “Mortality was higher than estimates from previous research conducted prior to the widespread availability of fentanyl (5.3%-5.5%).”

And in the third selection from The Globe and Mail, Dr. Lester Liao (of McGill University) and his co-authors write about mental health campaigns. They note the unintended consequences, including overdiagnosis of disorders like ADHD and autism. “We started out with the greatest of intentions. Unintended consequences have arisen. That’s okay. We learn along the way. Now it’s time to change course.”

There will be no Reading next week.

DG

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Reading of the Week: Cannabis-Related Disorders – the new NEJM Paper; Also, Surgeons & Opioid Prescribing and MAiD & Mental Illness

February 8, 2024 /

From the Editor

Cannabis use is increasingly common. Should you be screening for misuse? What’s the role of drug testing? Do short interventions work?

In the first selection, we look at the new paper on cannabis-related disorders, published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. David A. Gorelick (of the University of Maryland) comments on cannabis use disorder, offering practical suggestions, drawing on the latest in the literature (with 76 references). “Cannabis use disorder and heavy or long-term cannabis use have adverse effects on physical and psychological health.” We discuss the paper and its takeaways.

In the second selection, Jason Zhang (of the University of Michigan) and his co-authors consider surgeons and the prescribing of opioids. Given past problems, are surgeons more frugal when they reach for the prescription pad? Drawing on an impressive US database, they analyzed dispensed opioids from 2016 to 2022 in a new JAMA Network Open research letter, finding a step in the right direction – but just a step. “Despite large reductions in opioid prescribing, surgical opioid stewardship initiatives remain important.”

And in the third selection, The Globe and Mail weighs in on the recent decision to delay the expansion of medical assistance in dying, or MAiD, for mental disorders. In an unsigned editorial, the authors recognize the suffering of some, but argue that not enough has been done to define the term irremediable. “A delay is not enough.”

DG

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Reading of the Week: Housing First & Mental Health Care – the new Health Affairs Paper; Also, Safe Supply & Outcomes and Antipsychotics for Delirium

February 1, 2024 /

From the Editor

With the shelter system overcrowded, my patient slept the previous four nights in the train station. “Where else was I to go?” Many major cities across North America have seen a rise in the number of those who are chronically homeless. Housing First – the idea that stable housing is needed for people to better access health care – is one option, though the concept has been increasingly criticized. Is it a good fit for our urban problems?

In the first selection from Health Affairs, Devlin Hanson and Sarah Gillespie (both of the Urban Institute) consider Housing First for a specific population: the chronically homeless population who have had frequent arrests and jail stays; most of them, not surprisingly, have major mental illness or substance problems. Hanson and Gillespie analyzed data from Denver, Colorado, where people were randomized into Housing First or a control group. “We found that within the two-year study period, people in the intervention group had significantly more office-based care for psychiatric diagnoses, fewer ED visits, more unique medications, and greater use of other health care than people in the control group.” We review the study and its implications.

Denver: mountains, fresh air, and Housing First

In the second selection, Hai V. Nguyen (of Memorial University) and his co-authors look at safe supply and opioid outcomes in British Columbia. In a JAMA Internal Medicine paper, they used data from that province, contrasting it with Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and focused on the number of prescriptions and hospitalizations. “Two years after its launch, the Safer Opioid Supply Policy in British Columbia was associated with higher rates of prescribing of opioids but also with a significant increase in opioid-related hospitalizations.”

Delirium is common in the elderly admitted to hospital, and antipsychotics are often prescribed. In the third selection, Dr. Christina Reppas-Rindlisbacher (of the University of Toronto) and her co-authors comment on use of this medication in aCMAJ Practice paper. They offer much advice, including: “They should be prescribed at the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible duration and be reevaluated at or shortly after discharge.”

DG

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