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Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie
Published in: Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie 2/2017

01-02-2017 | Review Article/Brief Review

Non-opioid anesthetic drug abuse among anesthesia care providers: a narrative review

Authors: Alix Zuleta-Alarcón, MD, John C. Coffman, MD, Suren Soghomonyan, MD, PhD, Thomas J. Papadimos, MD, Sergio D. Bergese, MD, Kenneth R. Moran, MD

Published in: Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie | Issue 2/2017

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this narrative review is to provide an overview of the problem of non-opioid anesthetic drug abuse among anesthesia care providers (ACPs) and to describe current approaches to screening, therapy, and rehabilitation of ACPs suffering from non-opioid anesthetic drug abuse.

Source

We first performed a search of all literature available on PubMed prior to April 11, 2016. The search was limited to articles published in Spanish and English, and the following key words were used: anesthesiology, anesthesia personnel, AND substance-related disorders. We also searched Ovid MEDLINE® databases from 1946-April 11, 2016 using the following search terms: anesthesiology OR anesthesia, OR nurse anesthetist OR anesthesia care provider OR perioperative nursing AND substance-related disorders.

Principal findings

Despite an increased awareness of drug abuse among ACPs and improvements in preventive measures, the problem of non-opioid anesthetic drug abuse remains significant. While opioids are the most commonly abused anesthesia medications among ACPs, the abuse of non-opioid anesthetics is a significant cause of morbidity, mortality, and professional demise.

Conclusion

Early detection, effective therapy, and long-term follow-up help ACPs cope more effectively with the problem and, when possible, resume their professional activities. There is insufficient evidence to determine the ability of ACPs to return safely to anesthesia practice after rehabilitation, though awareness of the issue and ongoing treatment are necessary to minimize patient risk from potentially related clinical errors.
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Metadata
Title
Non-opioid anesthetic drug abuse among anesthesia care providers: a narrative review
Authors
Alix Zuleta-Alarcón, MD
John C. Coffman, MD
Suren Soghomonyan, MD, PhD
Thomas J. Papadimos, MD
Sergio D. Bergese, MD
Kenneth R. Moran, MD
Publication date
01-02-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie / Issue 2/2017
Print ISSN: 0832-610X
Electronic ISSN: 1496-8975
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-016-0698-7

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