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Alleviating symptoms of withdrawal from an opioid
1Department 1051, School of Nursing, The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, 615 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, TN, 37403, USA, Judith-Wakim@utc.edu.
Introduction:
Patients who are discharged following surgery on an oral opioid, and who have taken the drug for 2 or more weeks often experience withdrawal symptoms when they try to discontinue the drug.
Case Report:
Three weeks after discharge, a 44-year-old female patient decided to reduce her oxycodone (OxyContin(®)) dosage from 20 mg three times a day to 20 mg two times a day. She experienced severe withdrawal symptoms.
Method:
To assist her in withdrawing from the remainder of the drug, a protocol using ondansetron was developed.
Results:
After 10 days, the patient was opioid and withdrawal-symptom free.
Conclusion:
Use of ondansetron along with tapering of the opioid was safe and effective in preventing further withdrawal symptoms. This case should stimulate research with a larger, more diverse population including those with both short-term and chronic opioid dependence.