Principal Investigator: Jonah J. Stulberg, MD, PhD, MPH A surplus of prescription pain killers continues to fuel the drug crisis in America. Accidental overdose of opioids have surpassed motor vehicle crashes in this country. Nearly two-thirds of opioid pills prescribed to Digestive Health Center (DHC) patients now go unused, leaving them vulnerable to abuse or misuse within our communities. Thanks to a Digestive Health Foundation grant, Jonah J. Stulberg, MD, PhD, MPH, a faculty member in the Department of Surgery, plans to launch the nation’s first-of-its-kind intervention project aimed at this growing risk among the DHC patient population. Through education and training, he hopes to change the culture of drug misuse among patients and the prescribing habits of ordering physicians to provide a safer and more effective pain management strategy. The study will include the installation of a one-way, sealed drug collection receptacle within the DHC Clinic; provider training on opioid prescribing risks, benefits and alternatives; and patient education materials promoting opioid medication safety. The grant will support the development of the educational tools and the statistical and project coordinator staff needed to study implementation effectiveness as well as the costs associated with the installation and maintenance of the opioid retrieval box. The ultimate goal is to develop a sustainable model for safe opioid prescribing and optimal pain control, while minimizing societal harm due to a surplus of unused...
Principal Investigator: Shireen Ahmad, MD More than 300 patients undergo bowel surgery every year at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for a variety of digestive diseases. Understandably, a chief concern is adequate pain relief. Most patients usually receive narcotic pain medications. While good for controlling pain, they come with a host of side effects ranging from nausea and constipation to sleepiness and confusion. Beginning in September 2016, Northwestern Memorial offered another option as part of a pilot program: intravenously-injected lidocaine. A numbing agent, it also provides pain relief but without the adverse side effects of narcotics. Additionally, lidocaine decreases inflammation and speeds recovery of bowel function after surgery. While many patients benefited from the lidocaine given at doses recommended by experts at other medical centers, a small number experienced side effects that required immediate cessation of the drug. Their metabolism of the pain reliever may have resulted in higher than expected (and higher than potentially safe) levels of lidocaine in the blood stream. Funded by a Digestive Health Foundation grant, a research team led by Shireen Ahmad, MD, an anesthesiology faculty member at Northwestern Medicine, will study blood levels of lidocaine in 40 patients at various times while they are receiving the medication. The aim is to identify predisposing characteristics that put certain patients at risk for lidocaine-induced side effects to better individualize the dosing, safety and effectiveness of the drug. A clearer understanding of the pharmacokinetics of the drug lidocaine will help to maximize its pain-killing properties while minimizing adverse side effects of this promising alternative to narcotics for pain...
