CDC Issues Proposed Changes to Opioid Painkiller Guidelines

The nonopioid treatment options suggested by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention include prescription medications like gabapentin and over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), as well as physical therapy, massage, and acupuncture.

The proposed changes dovetail with a nationwide epidemic of opioid use and overdose deaths. Between 1999 and 2019, nearly 500,000 Americans died of an overdose from any opioid, including illicit and prescription drugs.

The revisions represent the first comprehensive rewrite of the CDC opioid prescribing guidelines since 2016. Like the current guidelines, these are recommended practices and not mandatory. The 12 recommendations remove suggested limits on doses for chronic pain patients, encouraging doctors to use their best judgment.

The draft document attempts to balance the need for using opioids to treat severe pain and reducing patients' risks from the drugs. It warns of addiction, depressed breathing, altered mental status, and other dangers associated with opioids.

The CDC also pointed out that opioids play an important role in easing immediate, acute pain from traumatic injuries. When doctors feel the need to prescribe them, the proposed guidelines say they should begin with the lowest effective dose and prescribe immediate-release pills instead of long-acting ones.