Drug Abuse by Anesthesiologists

A survey has found that substance abuse among anesthesiologists is a continuing problem, with around 1% of faculty members and 1.6% of residents admitting use of a controlled substance. The survey was a component of a study published in the October 2002 issue of Anesthesia and Analgesia.

The study showed that improved control of operating room medications and increased education have not helped to cut the rate of substance abuse. However, the researchers emphasize that all use of a controlled substance took place outside of the operating room setting during the doctors' personal time, and there were no reports of patient harm as a result of impaired functioning. The survey was sent to the chairpersons of anesthesiology at 133 US academic medical centers, and 123 responded. The responses indicated that the most commonly abused medication was fentanyl.

"Fentanyl is a narcotic that works much quicker than morphine and provides very effective pain relief,” said John Booth, M.D., an anesthesiologist at Duke University Medical Center (Durham, NC, USA) and lead author of the study. "But, like other drugs of the same class, it is addictive and over time, larger doses are needed to achieve the same effect.”

Dr. Booth suggests that one possible solution is drug testing, now common in many workplace settings. He also believes a national databank of all doctors who are having substance abuse problems should be established to identify at-risk doctors in order to get them some help before it is too late.





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Duke University Medical Center