Reference no: EM133755891
Question: In this Covid era, practitioners are bound to come across patients suffering from severe Covid symptoms. A former heroin user completed residential rehabilitation and became affiliated with Narcotics Anonymous. He remained abstinent from all drugs for 9 months.
As one of the severe Covid symptoms, he complained of severe back pain, restricting his mobility. On being seen by a doctor during admission, he was offered a dose of morphine. Although in severe pain, the patient commented that he was an ex-addict and was concerned at receiving opioids. The doctor reassured him and administered morphine.
Days later, on return home from the hospital admission, he contacted his dealer, used heroin, in the amount he had previously used regularly, but due to diminished tolerance in his drug-free state, succumbed to a fatal overdose.
Thinking about what you have learned in units 10 and 11, critically discuss what was wrong in the above scenario and how would you approach this situation. You may want to address the following:
What are the challenges in managing pain in current or former addicts? Why do those challenges come across as challenges?
What is the role of prescription drug abuse in opioid crisis? Why?
What strategies and interventions for addressing the burden of opioids use could be applied to encourage positive health-related behaviours in the management of pain?
What other strategies and interventions can be applied to address perceptive pain? Why?