Citation

Krane EJ, Weisman SJ, Walco GA. Pediatrics 2018; 142(2): ePub.

Affiliation

Seattle Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Seattle, Washington.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

10.1542/peds.2018-1623

PMID

30012558

Abstract

It is impossible to watch broadcast news or read a newspaper without encountering a story of the “opioid epidemic,” an unfortunate phrase used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from whom “epidemic” carries an emotive connotation. The national interest in the opioid epidemic began when the New England Journal of Medicine, followed by other sources, documented increasing opioid-related deaths in the United States. With media attention the topic became politicized, later followed by regulations, statutes, and litigation against the pharmaceutical industry in an attempt to solve the “crisis,” while punishing pharmaceutical manufacturers for causing this epidemic ...

Language: en