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RESEARCH ANALYSIS | Pain Management
Research focused on the
Chronic Pain Management

Original Research | The Opioid Epidemic: Postoperative Pain Management Strategies in Orthopaedics
The authors, Labrum & Ilyas, present evidenced-based pain management strategies for Orthopaedic Surgeons and patients. JBJS Rev....

Original Research | Study Analyzing Preop Opioid Counseling in Pain Management after Carpal Tunnel
The authors, Alter & Ilyas, identified that formal pre-operative opioid counseling resulted in two-thirds voluntary decrease in...
Opioid-sparing Pain Management Strategies for Fibromyalgia
NICHOLAS PIARULLI, BS DAVID S. STOLZENBERG, D.O. SUMMARY POINTS Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that is poorly understood....
Perioperative Pain Management for Opioid Tolerant Patients
TARA TRONETTI, BS SUMMARY POINTS Opioid-tolerant patients require thoughtful and active management during the perioperative period to...

Post-Op Opioid Prescribing following Total Joint Arthroplasty:An Analysis of Patient Characteristics
Qudratullah S. Qadiri, BS SUMMARY POINTS In the last five years, there has been a significant decrease in the use of opioids for...
Opioid Prescribing and Consumption Trends in Foot & Ankle Surgery
HEE W. KIM, BS SUMMARY POINTS An average of 34 opioid pills are prescribed to patients following foot & ankle surgeries, with...
Effect of Vitamin D and Opioid Use
DAKOTA L. TAYLOR, BS, LAT, ATC SUMMARY POINTS Vitamin D can modulate the effects of ultraviolet radiation-induced β-endorphin and its...
Relationship Between Medical Cannabis Legalization and Opioid-Related Mortality Rates
ALICE WU, BA SUMMARY POINTS The use of medical cannabis has been shown to offer therapeutic effects to combat patients with opioid use...
Retention of Patients in Opioid Replacement Therapy Programs in Philadelphia
RITU VYAS, BS Summary Philadelphia continues to lead in fatal overdoses amongst large cities in the United States. Meta-analyses studies...
Understanding the Utility of Abuse-Deterrent Opioids
JOSH MARET, BS ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Abuse-deterrent opioid formulations (ADOs) aim to make opioid abuse less...
Fentanyl Test Strips and their Influence on Risk Reduction Behavior
Mubazar Ishfaq, BS SUMMARY POINTS Illicit synthetic fentanyl abuse is increasing across America and is the cause of the current 4th wave...
The Effect of Smoking on the Use of Opioids After Surgery
ZACHARY BLICKLEY, BS SUMMARY POINTS Smoking increases postoperative opioid usage and pain scores across different surgical specialties...
Rates of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Impact of the Opioid Crisis on Pregnancy and Opioid Use Disorder in Rural Pennsylvania Rachael Wittmer, BS SUMMARY POINTS Pennsylvania’s...
Review of Pennsylvania Opioid Treatment Agreements
Ripal Sheth, BS SUMMARY POINTS The Pennsylvania state legislature mandated the use of opioid treatment agreements when starting chronic...
Cultural Perspectives on Pain and Pain Management
Tala Allababidi, BS SUMMARY POINTS The United States’ extensive opioid consumption has been attributed to pharmaceutical advertising,...

Opioid-Prescribing Trends In Dermatology
ANASTASIA A. MITAYANINA, BS SUMMARY POINTS Less than 10% of Dermatologists prescribe opioids. There has been an overall decrease in...
Effect of Opioid Use on Female Fertility
ANISHA SINGH, BS SUMMARY POINTS Mu-opioid receptors are found in a variety of organs that can influence fertility, such as the...
Buprenorphine and Methadone use for Opioid Use Disorder in Patients Undergoing Orthopedic Surgery
John Bodnar, MS Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Buprenorphine or methadone use in the perioperative period is challenging due to...

WEBINAR | Understanding Opioid Use Disorder for the Non-Pain Management Specialist
News from Your Pennsylvania Pain Society FREE VIRTUAL WEBINAR AUGUST 11, 2022 Bhavna Bali MD, Penn State Health and Mark Fuller MD,...
PRESS | Dr. Asif Ilyas discusses Anatomic and Procedure Specific Guidelines
Dr. Asif Ilyas discusses Anatomic and Procedure Specific Guidelines to curb Opioid Prescriptions with Orthopedics Today. Read more.

Research Abstract | Resident Opioid Educational Intervention on Prescribing Behaviors
Impact of an Educational Intervention on the Opioid Knowledge and Prescribing Behaviors of Resident Physicians AUTHORS Pankti Acharya,...

Trends in Opioid Prescribing Following Statewide PDMP Implementation: The Pennsylvania Experience
AUTHORS CHAIM MILLER, BA ASIF M. ILYAS, MD, MBA ABSTRACT Background The opioid epidemic is a major public health crisis in the United...

Trends in Opioid Prescribing Following Statewide PDMP Implementation: The Pennsylvania Experience
CHAIM MILLER, BA ASIF M. ILYAS, MD, MBA SUMMARY POINTS Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Monitoring (PDMP) data showed a 33% decrease in the...

Opioid Prescribing Patterns by Drug Type: The Pennsylvania Experience.
Brock K. Bakewell, MPH Chaim Miller, BA Matthew B. Sherman, BS Asif M. Ilyas, MD, MBA SUMMARY POINTS: In 2016 nearly 2 million opioid...
A Pennsylvania PDMP Analysis: Top 5 Pennsylvania Counties by Opioid-Related Overdose Deaths
Ramin Talebi, BS Asif Ilyas, MD, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Opioid prescribing rates and prescription opioid overdose rates are trending down,...

Pennsylvania PDMP Analysis: Comparative Opioid Prescribing Trends in Allegheny County & Philadelphia
Kimberly Townsend, M.S. Jenna Adalbert, M.P.H. Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Drug-induced deaths have increased in the last...
Racial Disparities in Opioid-Related Deaths Among US Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Danielle Lehman, BS Jenna Adalbert, MPH Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS: Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 80% of...
Naloxone Access and its Importance in Combating the Opioid Crisis
Mike Heller, BS Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Naloxone (Narcan) is an opioid receptor antagonist that can be used to rapidly...

Pennsylvania Opioid Prescription Rates per County and Primary Care Provider Density
Kevin Rooney, BS, Jenna Adalbert, MPH Asif M. Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS Summary Points In 2019, PA ranked 26th in state opioid prescription...
The State of “Pill Mills” in America
Dominic Farronato Summary Points: A pill mill is a medical practice that inappropriately prescribes large amounts of opioid drugs without...

Pennsylvania PDMP: Opioid Prescription Trends by Demographics and Payers
John Waters, BS Jenna Adalbert, MPH Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS: Understanding patterns of prescription distribution is key...

Pennsylvania PDMP: Opioid Prescription Trends by Demographics and Payers
John Waters, BS Jenna Adalbert, MPH Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS: Understanding patterns of prescription distribution is key...
Opioid Mortality Trends in the USA and Pennsylvania
Austin Saline, BA Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS The first wave of the “Opioid Epidemic” was related to prescription opioids...
Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs:They Are Not All Created Equal
CHAIM MILLER, BA ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS The PDMP remains the single most studied legislative action addressing the...
Opioid-Related Mortality – 3 Waves
Chaim Miller, BA Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS Takeaway Points: The CDC categorized the past 20 years of drug overdose data into 3 waves to...
Opioid-Minimizing Pain Management Strategies in Hand Surgery
JOSEPH LABRUM, IV, MD ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA SUMMARY POINTS Hand Surgery is a high volume surgical field with historically excessive...
Opioid-Minimizing Pain Management Strategies in Spine Surgery
DANIEL CALEM, BA MARK KURD, MD SUMMARY POINTS Spine surgery has historically relied on the routine use of opioids, with spine surgery...
Recent Opioid Prescribing Trends at the Rothman Orthopaedic Institute
BROCK BAKEWELL, MPH ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Rothman physicians have reduced the number of opioid prescriptions from 2015...
Opioid-Minimizing Pain Management Strategies in Sports Medicine
JENNA ADALBERT, BS SOMMER HAMMOUD, MD SUMMARY POINTS Orthopaedic sports medicine sub specialists perform a wide variety of anatomic...
Opioid Knowledge & Prescribing Habits of Surgical Residents Before & After Educational Intervention
PANKTI ACHARYA, MPH ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Formal Opioid-prescribing education of orthopaedic surgical residents...
The State of Opioid Prescribing Education in U.S. Medical and Dental Schools
JENNA ADALBERT, BS ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS In medical school curricula, active methods of opioid prescribing instruction...
Opioid Prescriptions –How do Orthopaedic Surgeons Rank?
TAYLOR PASKEY, BS ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Orthopaedic Surgeons write 5.8% of all opioid prescriptions, behind: Family...
Opioid Mortality –Where is the Opioid Epidemic Now?
ZACHARY HERMAN, BS ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Opioid mortality is defined as a death related to opioid use, be it...
Opioid Prescribing Rates – Are We Making Progress?
ZACHARY HERMAN, BS ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Understanding opioid prescribing habits and patient utilization of opioids is...
Opioid Prescriptions –Who are the Highest Prescribers by Specialty?
TAYLOR PASKEY, BS ASIF ILYAS, MD, MBA, FACS SUMMARY POINTS Despite recent decreases in opioid prescribing, significant variation in...
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