All clinicians in the hospital setting should read "Acute Pain Management for Inpatients with Opioid Use Disorder" (September 2015), which dispels some of the myths about patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and suggests how to properly care for these patients while in the hospital.

For example, on admission a patient with OUD typically has a cocktail of pain medications on the home medication list. Unfortunately, the admitting physician may be unwilling to order all of these medications, making it very hard for the nurse to control the patient's acute pain on top of the chronic pain. The article states that methadone shouldn't be used as acute pain relief; however, I see this all the time. If a patient takes methadone at home, the physician thinks it will relieve both acute and chronic pain. Methadone, however, is typically prescribed every 24 hours, and its analgesic action lasts only four to eight. This article illustrates the knowledge deficit physicians and nurses have when caring for patients with OUD, and could help them change the way they practice and care for these patients.

Jessica Redmond, RN

Pisgah Forest, NC