ON THE COVER:
New scientific discoveries are emerging in the field of opioid pharmacology at the same time the United States is responding to a surge in prescription opioid misuse. “Frontiers in Opioid Pharmacology,” the 2017 Anesthesiology Journal Symposium held during the American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting, highlighted many of these new scientific discoveries. In this issue of Anesthesiology, readers will find articles describing new original laboratory and clinical research, retrospective and population studies with practice and policy implications, and reviews on a number of topics related to the pharmacology and clinical use of opioid analgesics. Many of these are written by anesthesiologists that are leading clinician-scientists in our field. We invite you to read and learn more from the Frontiers in Opioid Pharmacology. Cover illustration by Sara Jarret, C.M.I.; opioid receptor illustration ©ThinkStock; Journal Symposium logo by Annemarie Johnson, Vivo Visuals.
Editorial Views
Rathmell and Kharasch: Frontiers in Opioid Pharmacology, p. 865
Henthorn and Mikulich-Gilbertson: μ-Opioid Receptor Agonists: Do They Have Utility in the Treatment of Acute Pain? p. 867
Original Investigations
Gupta et al.: Opioid Abuse or Dependence Increases 30-day Readmission Rates after Major Operating Room Procedures: A National Readmissions Database Study, p. 880
Memtsoudis et al.: Association of Multimodal Pain Management Strategies with Perioperative Outcomes and Resource Utilization: A Population-based Study, p. 891
Birkholz et al.: Influence of Cardiac Output on the Pharmacokinetics of Sufentanil in Anesthetized Pigs, p. 912
Roozekrans et al.: Benefit versus Severe Side Effects of Opioid Analgesia: Novel Utility Functions of Probability of Analgesia and Respiratory Depression, p. 932
Fisher et al.: Pharmacokinetic Properties of a Sufentanil Sublingual Tablet Intended to Treat Acute Pain, p. 943
Chai et al.: New Opioid Analgesic Approvals and Outpatient Utilization of Opioid Analgesics in the United States, 1997 through 2015, p. 953
Klein et al.: Overexpression of μ-Opioid Receptors in Peripheral Afferents, but Not in Combination with Enkephalin, Decreases Neuropathic Pain Behavior and Enhances Opioid Analgesia in Mouse, p. 967
Angel et al.: Buprenorphine Depresses Respiratory Variability in Obese Mice with Altered Leptin Signaling, p. 984
Toyama et al.: Nonpeptide Orexin-2 Receptor Agonist Attenuates Morphine-induced Sedative Effects in Rats, p. 992
Review Articles
Litman et al.: Abuse-deterrent Opioid Formulations, p. 1015
Dahan et al.: Averting Opioid-induced Respiratory Depression without Affecting Analgesia, p. 1027