Background: There were approximately 46,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2017. It is known that opioid overdose risk is increased in patients with a diagnosis of substance use disorder, prior opioid overdose, and high suspicion of risk as assessed by clinical teams. The Risk Index for Overdose or Serious Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression (RIOSORD) is a validated […]

Case Presentation: A 30‐year‐old man with history of HIV and metastatic Kaposi sarcoma presented with 3 days of worsening pain, bilateral swelling, and progressive purplish discoloration of his lower extremities. Initial blood pressure was 95/56 mm Hg, heart rate 138 beats/minute, and respiratory rate 22/minute. Both legs were markedly swollen, dusky, and tender to midthigh. […]

Background: Inpatient addiction consultant services are an innovative and proliferating tool used to confront the opioid epidemic. As healthcare systems seek to address gaps in care for patients with substance use disorder (SUD), the inpatient setting is increasingly understood as a unique opportunity for counseling, referral for treatment, and initiation of medication assistance treatment (MAT) […]

Background: Hospitalization provides an opportunity to provide patients who use tobacco with evidence-based treatment for cessation, including nicotine replacement therapy, motivational interviewing, and pharmacotherapy. However, this benefit is often lost without appropriate transitions in care to outpatient cessation resources. We have found that inpatient tobacco cessation interventions at our 600-bed urban academic medical center do […]

Case Presentation: A 54‐year‐old African American woman with a history of hypertension and intravenous drug abuse presented to the emergency room with a 2‐month history of lower back pain and new onset right lower leg radicular pain and paresthesias. The patient had an emergent lumbosacral MRI revealing inflammatory changes at L4–L5 and L5–S1 worrisome for […]