Compassionate Care for People with Cancer and Opioid Use Disorder.

ABSTRACT: Opioid use disorder (OUD) is an important comorbidity to assess and manage in people with cancer. In this article, the authors discuss strategies for safe opioid management in individuals with OUD and cancer-related pain using a composite case example. They highlight core approaches to pain management, including motivational interviewing, harm reduction, and evidence-based treatments, as well as advocacy for person-centered end-of-life care.

Opioid-prescribing considerations in patients with cancer and substance misuse or substance use disorder: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: This scoping review aims to describe factors in the existing literature that may inform opioid-prescribing decisions for patients with a past or present history of cancer and past or present substance misuse or substance use disorder. INTRODUCTION: Opioids and opioid-related decisions are critical components of cancer care. Most individuals with cancer will experience pain during cancer care, and over half of patients will receive an opioid prescription. Opioid-prescribing decisions require weighing the benefits and harms. The presence of substance misuse or substance use disorder may elevate the risk of opioid-related harms, but there is a lack of consensus on managing patients at this intersection. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This review will consider studies that include adult patients with a past or present history of cancer who also have pain and current or historical substance misuse or substance use disorder. The pain may be cancer-related or non-cancer-related. Studies of patients with all types of cancer will be eligible for inclusion, with the exception of non-melanoma skin cancers. Eligible studies will explore factors that inform opioid-prescribing decisions in this patient population. METHODS: The review will be conducted according to JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Studies written in English since database inception will be included. The databases to be searched include MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase, APA PsycINFO, and Google Scholar. Eligible studies will undergo data extraction by 2 independent reviewers using a data extraction tool created by the authors. A narrative summary will describe study characteristics, population details, and strategies used to determine appropriate pain management in the patient population.

Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Buprenorphine.

Pain management in palliative care (PC) is becoming more complex as patients survive longer with life-limiting illnesses and population-wide trends involving opioid misuse become more common in serious illness. Buprenorphine, a generally safe partial mu-opioid receptor agonist, has been shown to be effective for both pain management and opioid use disorder. It is critical that PC clinicians become comfortable with indications for its use, strategies for initiation while understanding risks and benefits. This article, written by a team of PC and addiction-trained specialists, including physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, and a pharmacist, offers 10 tips to demystify buprenorphine use in serious illness.

Adapting Palliative Care Skills to Provide Substance Use Disorder Treatment to Patients With Serious Illness.

BACKGROUND: The majority of Palliative Care (PC) clinicians report recently caring for a person with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The impact of an untreated SUD is associated with significant suffering but many PC clinicians report a lack of confidence in managing this population. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to demonstrate existing PC skills that can be adapted to provide primary SUD treatment. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review was conducted on quality PC domains and core SUD treatment principles. To demonstrate the shared philosophy and skills of PC clinicians and SUD treatment, the National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care and resources outlining core Addiction Medicine and Nursing Competencies were used. RESULTS: There is an abundance of overlapping domains in PC and SUD treatment. This paper focuses on the domains of communication, team-based care, quality of life considerations, addressing social determinants of health, and adherence to ethical principles. In each section, the shared domain in PC and SUD treatment is discussed and steps to expand PC clinician's skills are provided. CONCLUSION: PC clinicians may be among the last healthcare touchpoint for persons with SUD, by naming the shared skills required in PC and evidenced-based SUD treatment, we challenge the field to undertake primary SUD treatment as part of its constant pursuit to better serve people living with serious illness.

Timeliness of Surveillance Colonoscopy in Underserved Populations: Association with Patient Navigation for Initial Screening Colonoscopy.

Patient navigation (PN) improves initial colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in underserved populations. Whether the impact persists and improves the timeliness of follow-up screening colonoscopy (FSC) is not known. Patients receiving PN at initial colonoscopy between 2010-2011 with findings requiring FSC were matched to unnavigated patients requiring FSC. The primary outcome was proportion of patients with timely FSC, defined as colonoscopy within six months of recommendation. Of 216 patients in the study 103 (48%) completed FSC: 33 of 62 (53%) who received PN compared with 70 of 154 (45%) in the control group (p=.30). After adjusting for insurance, education, language and visits, navigated patients had higher odds (AOR=1.53, 95% CI 0.80-2.92) of timely FSC completion compared with unnavigated patients. Timely FSC completion in underserved patients is low. Patients navigated for initial colonoscopy or not had similar rates of FSC completion. Future studies should investigate navigation for FSC to improve equity in CRC.

Primary Addiction Medicine Skills for Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physicians: A Modified Delphi Study.

CONTEXT: Hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) physicians frequently care for patients with substance use disorders (SUDs), but there is no consensus on which primary addiction medicine (AM) skills are essential. OBJECTIVES: Identify key primary AM skills that physicians should acquire during an ACGME-accredited HPM fellowship program. METHODS: A modified Delphi study consisting of 18 experts on SUD in HPM and medical education. A literature review and expert input identified initial AM skills. In three Delphi rounds, participants rated each skill on a nine-point scale from "not at all important to include" to "crucial to include." We calculated medians (IQRs), analyzed panelists' comments, and grouped skills using the RAND / UCLA appropriateness method. RESULTS: Among 62 proposed AM skills, 53 skills were rated as appropriate to include (38 of which achieved agreement), and nine skills were rated as uncertain. AM skills most relevant to HPM included 1) defining chemical coping, median 8.5 (IQR 2); 2) balancing life expectancy with risks of opioid use for patients with SUD, 9 (IQR 0); 3) explaining best practices to dispose unused opioids postmortem, 8 (IQR 2); 4) managing pain for hospice patients with SUD, 9 (IQR 0.75); and 5) partnering with hospice to manage patients on methadone and buprenorphine, 9 (IQR 2). Experts did not achieve consensus on whether HPM physicians should be encouraged to learn to prescribe buprenorphine for patients with opioid use disorder, 6 (IQR 3). CONCLUSION: HPM fellowships should consider incorporating the primary AM skills identified in this study in their curricula.