CE: Acute Pain Management for People with Opioid Use Disorder

: Medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), which incorporates methadone, buprenorphine, or naltrexone, has been shown to reduce all-cause mortality rates in patients with this disease-and the numbers of patients receiving such treatment is substantial. In 2016, among U.S. patients with OUD, nearly 350,000 were treated with methadone, more than 60,000 were treated with buprenorphine, and more than 10,000 were treated with naltrexone. Managing acute pain in patients receiving this treatment can be a significant nursing challenge. The authors discuss the attributes of the three medications used to treat OUD and, through a composite patient case, review how to manage acute pain effectively in patients receiving this type of treatment.This article is one in a series on palliative care developed in collaboration with the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (https://advancingexpertcare.org), which offers education, certification, advocacy, leadership, and research on palliative care.