The Palliative Care Society of Trinidad and Tobago

14/11/2025

Don’t forget self care!

24/10/2025

True

14/10/2025

Just a reminder that your mental health is just as important as any other part of your health.

You are loved, and you deserve to be here. Take care of yourself.

12/10/2025

❇️ Opioid-induced Sedation ❇️
—> Important to know

Opioid-induced sedation (that can be seen with opioid-induced neurotoxicity) is an early warning sign of Opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD), the most serious of the opioid toxicity spectrum.

The development of opioid-induced respiratory depression happens like this:

🟡 Sedation (sedation score 3 - hard to wake)

🟠 Decrease in respiratory rate (slow breathing)

🔴 Decrease in tidal volume (shallow breathing)

⛔️ Leading to severe or life-threatening hypoxia (low oxygen)

What can we do to prevent this?

✅ Routine assessment of
sedation levels is important to help prevent the development of OIRD.

✅ By including Sedation Score as part of regular nursing observations, OIRD can be prevented by our superhero nurses! 🦸‍♀️

Nurses should consider including sedation score in their observations:

➡️ For the first 24 hours after opioids have been started and
➡️ For the first 24 hours after opioid dose has been increased

❣️In my next posts I will discuss more about the diagnosis and management of opioid-induced respiratory depression and explain why Naloxone should not be given for opioid-induced sedation, only for opioid-induced respiratory depression!❣️

⭐️⭐️ if you enjoyed this, check out my other posts on opioid toxicity 👇

https://lnkd.in/gDr632KD

https://lnkd.in/gN-cJgPM

https://lnkd.in/gVNTDXPJ

———————————-

Hi 👋🏻 I’m Katie Weatherstone, a Palliative Medicine consultant in New Zealand

Follow me on LinkedIn for topics related to palliative care and the experiences of patients with advanced illnesses, as well as those caring for them.

10/10/2025

Thanks Katie!!

✨Top tips for diagnosing and managing opioid-induced neurotoxicity ✨

🤔 Think about opioid-induced neurotoxicity in any patient taking an opioid who develops:

💪🏻Myoclonus—uncontrollable twitching and jerking of muscles, usually forearms and hands

🫥 Delirium or other neuropsychiatric signs such as confusion, disorientation, drowsiness, reduced levels of consciousness, agitation, cognitive impairment, and/or visual or tactile hallucinations

😩 Increased pain, caused by things that don’t normally cause pain (allodynia) or an unexplained increase in generalised body pain (hyperalgesia)

👀 Pinpoint pupils can be seen but are not diagnostic on their own

✨Management✨

✅ if pain is controlled, reduce the opioid dose 👇

😵‍💫 For mild hallucinations, consider adding a small dose of an antipsychotic medication at night, such as Haloperidol. By doing so, you might be able to keep the opioid the same.

❌ If pain is not controlled, or side effects are intolerable, opioid switch ♻️

⭐️ in my next post, I will look at the importance of monitoring opioid-induced sedation

⭐️⭐️ if you enjoyed this, check out my other posts on opioid toxicity 👇

https://lnkd.in/gN-cJgPM

https://lnkd.in/gVNTDXPJ

———————————-

Hi 👋🏻 I’m Katie Weatherstone, a Palliative Medicine consultant in New Zealand

Follow me for topics related to palliative care and the experiences of patients with advanced illnesses, as well as those caring for them.

06/10/2025

Kermit ,in a way provided a measure of Palliative care ❤️

04/10/2025

Dr Mount was the gentleman who coined the term “Palliative Care.” RIP

Mount devoted his life to caring for others and alleviating suffering. In interviews, his family and colleagues remembered him as both deeply compassionate and as a fierce advocate for the humanity of those who are suffering.

27/09/2025

Live!

19/09/2025

30/08/2025

Yes, the stages can vacillate.

29/08/2025

This 💯