Iatrogenic opioid withdrawal syndrome presentation and considerations

The 2018 Critical Care Medicine Guidelines for Analgesia and Sedation in the ICU Good Practice Statement emphasized importance treatment of pain taking precedence over sedation. Within these guidelines, a multimodal analgesia approach is standard care ICU, which often includes initiation opioids. 1 As practice has shifted to prioritize management sedation, opioids have been administered frequent prolonged dosages, making critically ill patient susceptible iatrogenic opioid withdrawal syndrome (IOWS). This article provides an overview IOWS alert clinicians diagnosis patients.