"Teens Still Commonly Prescribed Opioids, Study Finds" - Linda Carroll
Opioid prescriptions remain common for teens and young adults, a new study published in the journal Pediatrics finds. Results found that from 2005 to 2015, nearly 15 percent of teens and young adults received an opioid prescription during an emergency room visit. According to Czer Anthoney Lim, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, doctors need to look beyond opioids for pain control. He added, “Physicians should be suggesting NSAIDs, like Motrin, unless there is a counter-indication. And parents should be told to give the NSAID time to work. If after that the pain is uncontrollable, you can use Tylenol-Codeine or Percocet.”
— Czer Anthoney Lim, MD, Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Medical Director, Pediatric Emergency Department, Pediatric Short Stay Unit, Mount Sinai Beth Israel