PAIN MEDICATION AFTER SURGERY CAN RESULT IN DEATH

Study Shows 21% of Deaths After Surgery Were Linked to Pain Medication

Medication can help, but it can also kill. According to a very recent study, pain medications are involved in more than 20 percent of deaths occurring in the years after spinal fusion surgery for low back pain. The study looked at 2,378 workers' compensation patients who underwent spinal fusion surgery in Washington State between 1994 and 2001 and found that 103 had died by 2004--21% of the deaths were linked to pain medications--19 were accidental overdoses and three were suicides.

According to the study, the use of spinal fusion (also called lumbar fusion) is growing rapidly, despite a lack of agreement over which patients should undergo the procedure. This is of special concern because spinal fusion carries a higher risk of complications than other, less extensive surgical procedures.

If you or a loved one is contemplating back surgery, talk with doctors in other specialities to determine if there are better options for you. There may not be and you may need to have the surgery. However, chiropractic care, physical rehabilitation, and other non-surgical treatment may provide relief. Also, be careful when taking pain medication. Watch your loved one who is taking pain medication. It is too easy to unknowingly abuse the medication which could result in death.

If your need for treatment is because of a car accident, motorcycle accident, workers' compensation accident or other personal injury matter, click here to contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes to discuss your legal rights. Attorney Noyes' Tampa Bay personal injury law firm has been fighting for the injured since 1955.

For more articles that could save your life or the life of a loved one, read and post on Personal Injury Matthew Noyes' web blog, Noyes Legal News--Helpful Information About Florida Car Accidents and Workers' Compensation Claims.