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Background: Opioid analgesics are among the most commonly prescribed medications, but questions remain regarding their impact on the day-to-day functioning of patients including driving. We set out to perform a systematic review on the risk of motor vehicle collision (MVC) associated with prescription opioid exposure. Method: We searched Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, and TRID from January 1990 to August 31, 2021 for primary studies assessing prescribed opioid use and MVCs. Results: We identified 14 observational studies that met inclusion criteria. Among those, 8 studies found an increased risk of MVC among those participants who had a concomitant opioid prescription at the time of the MVC and 3 found no significant increase of culpability of fatal MVC. The 3 studies that evaluated the presence of a dose-response relationship between the dose of opioids taken and the effects on MVC risk reported the existence of a dose-response relationship. Due to the heterogeneity of the different studies, a quantitative meta-analysis to sum evidence was deemed unfeasible. Our review supports increasing evidence on the association between motor vehicle collisions and prescribed opioids. This research would guide policies regarding driving legislation worldwide. Conclusion: Our review indicates that opioid prescriptions are likely associated with an increased risk of MVCs. Further studies are warranted to strengthen this finding, and investigate additional factors such as individual opioid medications, opioid doses and dose adjustments, and opioid tolerance for their effect on MVC risk.
RESUMO
Patient reported outcomes (PROs) fulfill a crucial and unique niche in patient management, providing health-care providers a glimpse into their patients' health experience. This is of utmost importance in patients with benign and malignant disorders of esophagus requiring surgery, which carries significant morbidity, in part due to a high burden of symptoms affecting health-related quality of life (HRQOL). There are a variety of generic and disease-specific patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) available for use in esophageal surgery. This article provides a broad overview of commonly used HRQOL instruments in esophageal surgery, including their utility in comparative effectiveness research, prognostication and shared decision-making for patients undergoing surgery for benign and malignant disorders of the esophagus.
RESUMO
Herpes simplex virus is an uncommon cause of esophagitis and particularly so in immunocompetent individuals. Although the common presentation tends to be odynophagia and/or dysphagia, fever, and retrosternal chest pain, there are variations and rarely it can present more ominously as esophageal rupture. We report a rare case of esophageal perforation with penetration into the vertebral space secondary to chronic herpes simplex virus esophagitis in a 71-year-old immunocompetent woman. This is the second known such occurrence. The patient had a long stay in the hospital but recovered from the condition and was followed up for 1 year after initial presentation.
