A quarter of the adults who went to hospital emergency departments with sprained ankles were prescribed opioid painkillers, a new study shows, in another sign of how commonly physicians turn to narcotics even for minor injuries. All but one of the nine states that recorded above-average opioid prescribing are in the South or Southwest. Opioid prescribing declined over the four years the researchers reviewed, as awareness of the opioid epidemic grew. The research was published this week in the journal Annals of Emergency Medicine. Read more:The drug industry’s triumph over the DEAIn the heart of Canada’s fentanyl crisis, measures some U.S. cities may followCDC urges doctors to curb opioid prescriptions

Source: Washington Post July 27, 2018 16:43 UTC