With a Focus on Opioid Overdose Prevention, the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) First Guideline for Primary Care Providers on Prescribing Opioids for the Treatment of Acute Pain in Children and adolescents extends beyond responsible pain management. If opioids are prescribed, according to the guidelines, families should be informed of the warning signs of an overdose and have naloxone, the medication that quickly reverses an opioid overdose, on hand. The guideline also urges providers to advise families on how to safely dispose of unused opioid medications once their child’s pain has resolved, instead of storing them at home for later use.

“Parents need to know how to respond to signs of overdose if their child is prescribed opioids, and they need to understand that safely disposing of unused opioids is also essential to preventing tragedy,” said Mehul Raval, co -author of the AAP guidelines. MD, MS, division chief of pediatric surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and professor of surgery and pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Dr. Raval was part of the core team that developed the guideline. This team included perspectives from families, as well as feedback from pediatricians, anesthesiologists and surgeons.

Our inclusive and multidisciplinary development process is a major asset of this guideline. We offer practical recommendations for pediatricians that support multimodal pain management and appropriate opioid use, which involves prescribing the minimum dose for the shortest duration. Overdose prevention strategies are essential to safe opioid prescribing and must become standard practice.

Mehul Raval, division chief of pediatric surgery, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago

Dr. Raval serves as Chairman of the Orvar Swenson Founding Board of Pediatric Surgery at Lurie Children’s.