UCSF Study Flags 5 Non-Opioid Pain Options for ER Use as Opioid Risks Persist

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 14

UCSF researchers mapped alternatives for five common emergency-department pain complaints—abdominal pain, back pain, chest pain, fracture pain and headache—finding several non-opioid drugs could relieve pain without defaulting to opioids.
The review highlighted broad-use options such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen across all pain types, while more targeted candidates included ketamine for chest pain, an SNRI antidepressant for back pain, and antipsychotics for headache and abdominal pain.
The push reflects long-running concerns over addiction and overdose after loose prescribing helped fuel the first wave of the US opioid crisis in the 1990s, even as the authors said opioids still retain an important role.
Researchers said treatment should be tailored to the patient because genetics, pain type, sleep, anxiety and prior opioid experience can all shape response, and they stressed psychiatric drugs for pain do not mean symptoms are "in a patient's head."

Sources

The Guardian6h ago

UCSF Study Identifies Antidepressants, Antipsychotics as Opioid Alternatives for Emergency Pain Relief

AOL6h ago

After rash of overdose deaths, L.A. halted sales of kratom. Some say they lost lifeline for pain and opioid withdrawal - AOL

link.springer.com6h ago

Association of preoperative corticosteroids with persistent opioid requirements following total knee arthroplasty: an exploratory population-based cohort study | Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie | Springer Nature Link

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Opioid Crisis 2026: UCSF Research and New Non-Opioid Drugs Reshape ER Pain Management

Overview

Amid the ongoing opioid crisis, there is an urgent shift in emergency medicine toward safer, non-addictive pain management. Driven by the need to reduce opioid reliance and its risks, research like UCSF’s DARPA-funded initiative is developing new painkillers that can work alone or with opioids. Innovative drugs such as suzetrigine, which blocks pain signals at their source without affecting the brain, offer effective relief without addiction. This progress, along with the adoption of multimodal and non-opioid therapies, marks a transformative period in patient care, helping providers manage acute pain more safely and improving public health outcomes.

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