Treating Opioid Withdrawal in the ED with Buprenorphine: A Bridge to Recovery
The Emergency Department (ED) is the frontline of the opioid crisis, treating patients with opioid-related infections, opioid withdrawal, and overdose. These encounters can be difficult or even downright confrontational. But that does not have to be the case! With the use of buprenorphine, we can “flip the script” for these encounters, encouraging patient-provider collaboration in the treatment of opioid addiction as medical disease.
“EMS is wild and imperfect. Just like our patients. It’s dangerous and a little mad and possibly contagious…patients don’t come to us… we go to them, and where and how we find them, well, that, too, is part of the story. once in the field, we should expect no help.” – Kevin Hazzard
Dr. Kalanithi was a chief resident in Neurosurgery at Stanford University when he was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. “When Breath becomes Air,” is a touching chronicle of his initial journey into medicine and neurosurgery and subsequent transition to the role of patient after his cancer diagnosis. This profoundly moving memoir is a tribute to his young life and family that he had to leave behind, but also a sad glimpse of the potential that this promising young doctor and author never will attain.