Introduction: The administration of opioids has been used for centuries as a viable option for pain management. When administered at appropriate doses, opioids prove effective not only at eliminating pain but further preventing its recurrence in long-term recovery scenarios. Physicians have complied with the appropriate management of acute and chronic pain; however, this short or long-term opioid exposure provides opportunities for long-term opioid misuse and abuse, leading to addiction of patients who receive an opioid prescription and/or diversion of this pain medication to other people without prescription. Several reviews attempted to summarize the epidemiology and management of opioid misuse, this integrative review seeks to summarize the current literature related with responsible parties of this opioid abuse crisis and discuss potential associations between demographics (ethnicity, culture, gender, religion) and opioid accessibility, abuse and overdose. Methods: We performed an extensive literature search in Google Scholar and Pub Med databases that were published between December 7, 1999 and January 9, 2018 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Searches were referenced using medical subject headings (MeSH) that included “opioids”, “over-prescription”, “opioid consumption”, or “opioid epidemic”. The final review of all data bases was conducted on July 24, 2018. Results: A total of 7160 articles were originally identified. After 3340 duplicate articles were removed, 3820 manuscripts were removed after title and abstract screening. Following this, 120 manuscripts underwent eligibility selection with only 70 publications being selected as reliable full-texts addressing related factors surrounding the opioid crisis. Conclusion: With approximately 100 million people suffering from both chronic and acute pain in the United States (US) in 2016, opiates will continue to remain a prominent class of medication in healthcare facilities and homes across the US. Over 66% of total overdose episodes in 2016 were opioid-related, a figure that attests to the severity and wide-spread nature of this issue. A three-point approach accentuating the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of both those currently affected and at-risk in the future may be the comprehensive solution.

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Rationale:Negative pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE) is a serious well-described pulmonary complication. It occurs after an intense inspiratory effort against an obstructed or closed upper airway and generates a large negative airway pressure, leading to severe pulmonary edema (transvascular fluid filtration and interstitial/alveolar edema) and hypoxemia. We present a case of NPPE following general anesthesia in a patient who underwent median nerve neurorrhaphy with graft from lower left limb (sural nerve) due to sharp injury.Patient concerns:A 39-year-old Hispanic male was admitted to the Hospital Universitario de San José and scheduled to undergo a median nerve neurorrhaphy under general anesthesia. Preoperative vital signs, physical examination, and laboratory assessments were unremarkable. At the end of surgery, anesthetic agents were ceased after patient responded to commands and maintained eye contact. However, immediately after extubation, anesthesia care providers observed marked respiratory distress and rapid development of hypoxia.Diagnoses:After extubation, patient presented multiple episodes of hemoptysis, tachypnea (25 per minute), blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) of 82% and abundant bilateral pulmonary rales. A baseline chest x-ray revealed symmetric parenchymal opacities with ground-glass attenuation and bilateral multilobar consolidations patterns. The diagnosis of NPPE was established and supportive treatment was initiated.Interventions:The patient received noninvasive mechanical ventilation with a PEEP at 10 cmH2O, intravenous furosemide (20 mg.) every 12 hours, and fluids restriction. Patient remained in PACU for continuing monitoring and laboratory/imaging follow-up testing until next morning.Outcomes:On postoperative day 1, patient responded satisfactorily to supportive treatment and transferred to the general care floor; oxygen supplementation was discontinued 12 hours after extubation time. On postoperative day 3, after the evaluation of a chest x-ray, patient was discharged to home in stable conditionsLesson:The occurrence of NPPE in the perioperative setting could be successfully managed with supportive regimens, effective clinical team coordination, and awareness of the importance of its rapid diagnosis.

Background: Recently formed ileostomies may produce an average of 1,200 ml of watery stool per day, while an established ileostomy output varies between 600–800 ml per day. The reported incidence of renal impartment in patients with ileostomy is 8–20%, which could be caused by dehydration (up to 50%) or high output stoma (up to 40%). There is a lack of evidence if an ileostomy could influence perioperative fluid management and/or surgical outcomes.Methods: Subjects aged ≥18 years old with an established ileostomy scheduled to undergo an elective non-ileostomy-related major abdominal surgery under general anesthesia lasting more than 2 h and requiring hospitalization were included in the study. The primary outcome was to assess the incidence of perioperative complications within 30 days after surgery.Results: A total of 552 potential subjects who underwent non-ileostomy-related abdominal surgery were screened, but only 12 were included in the statistical analysis. In our study cohort, 66.7% of the subjects were men and the median age was 56 years old (interquartile range [IQR] 48-59). The median time from the creation of ileostomy to the qualifying surgery was 17.7 months (IQR: 8.3, 32.6). The most prevalent comorbidities in the study group were psychiatric disorders (58.3%), hypertension (50%), and cardiovascular disease (41.7%). The most predominant surgical approach was open (8 [67%]). The median surgical and anesthesia length was 3.4 h (IQR: 2.5, 5.7) and 4 h (IQR: 3, 6.5), respectively. The median post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) stay was 2 h (IQR:0.9, 3.1), while the median length of hospital stay (LOS) was 5.6 days (IQR: 4.1, 10.6). The overall incidence of postoperative complications was 50% (n = 6). Two subjects (16.7%) had a moderate surgical wound infection, and two subjects (16.7%) experienced a mild surgical wound infection. In addition, one subject (7.6%) developed a major postoperative complication with atrial fibrillation in conjunction with moderate hemorrhage.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the presence of a well-established ileostomy might not represent a relevant risk factor for significant perioperative complications related to fluid management or hospital readmission. However, the presence of peristomal skin complications could trigger a higher incidence of surgical wound infections.