The proposal also called for an individualized approach to care.
What Is MME?
Morphine milligram equivalents (MME) represents how many milligrams of morphine equals the dose of the prescribed medication.
IconicBestiary / Getty Images
According to the CDC, this metric helps monitor the overdose potential of opioids.
But some experts in pain medicine said removing dosage caps altogether could have dangerous consequences for patients seeking care.
The dosage cap in the 2016 guidelines wasnt meant to police all pain medicine prescribers.
They also noted that the 50MME recommendation did not apply to people being tapered off of higher doses.
What Will the New Proposal Mean for Pain Patients?
Experts in pain medicine were largely excluded from the creation of the new guidelines, Staats added.
We all have different priming, we all have different risk factors, Nelson said.
Every time we give an opioid to somebody, we are rolling the dice a little bit.
Its iterative, it builds on itself.
The pain gets worse, you need more opioid, your pain gets worse, you need opioid.
People who die of opioid overdose often die from respiratory depression, added.
Prescribed appropriately, opioid analgesics are an important part of acute pain management.
A non-addictive drug that rivals an opioids pain killing properties would be a groundbreaking treatment, Nelson said.
But finding one wont be easy.
Heroin was introduced in the 1800s as a potential non-addictive alternative to morphine.
In 2020, it was responsible for 13,165 overdose deaths in the United States.
Without a universal, harmless solution to treating pain, opioids remain a powerful tool in aiding patients.
We want to give autonomy to the physicians to make the right decisions for their patients, Staats said.
But on the flip side, you cant look at that in a vacuum.
Some experts say it could have dangerous consequences for patients seeking care.
you could leave apublic commentfor the CDC proposal until April 11, 2022.
National Institute on Drug Abuse.Overdose death rates.
