Study: Opioids, Non-Opioids Provide Equal Pain Relief in ER

As recognition grows that taking opioids for even a few days may lead to long-term use, a new study has found that a combination of two non-opioid drugs was as effective as opioids for treating arm or leg pain in emergency room patients. The non-opioid drugs — ibuprofen and acetaminophen — were administered to patients who visited Montefiore Medical Center emergency rooms in the Bronx in 2015 and 2016. The comparison groups were patients who took acetaminophen in combination with opioids oxycodone, hydrocodone or codeine. The study included 411 patients. Patients were asked to ra...