Association between initial opioid prescription diagnosis type and subsequent chronic prescription opioid use in Rhode Island: a population-based cohort study (original) (raw)
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Journal of general internal medicine, 2016
Long-term efficacy of opioids for non-cancer pain is unproven, but risks argue for cautious prescribing. Few data suggest how long or how much opioid can be prescribed for opioid-naïve patients without inadvertently promoting long-term use. To examine the association between initial opioid prescribing patterns and likelihood of long-term use among opioid-naïve patients. Retrospective cohort study; data from Oregon resident prescriptions linked to death certificates and hospital discharges. Patients filling opioid prescriptions between October 1, 2012, and September 30, 2013, with no opioid fills for the previous 365 days. Subgroup analyses examined patients under age 45 who did not die in the follow-up year, excluding most cancer or palliative care patients. Exposure: Numbers of prescription fills and cumulative morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) dispensed during 30 days following opioid initiation ("initiation month"). Proportion of patients with six or more opioid fil...
Background: There has been a significant increase in opioid prescriptions and the prevalence of opioid nonmedical use. Nonmedical use may lead to opioid abuse/dependence, a serious public health concern. The aim of this paper was to determine the mental and physical health predictors of incident nonmedical prescription opioid use (NMPOU) and abuse/dependence, and the impact of comorbidity in a longitudinal, nationally representative sample. Methods: Data come from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (N=34,653; ≥20 years old). Mental disorders were assessed using the Alcohol Use Dis- order and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IV edition. Physical conditions were based on self-reports of physician-diagnoses. Multiple logistic regression models examined the associations between mental and physical health predictors at Wave 1 and their association to incident NMPOU and abuse/dependence disorders at Wave 2. Results: After adjusting for sociodemographics, Axis I and II mental disorders and physical conditions, the presence of mental disorders (i.e., mood, personality disorders and substance use disorders), phys- ical conditions (i.e., increasing number of physical conditions, any physical condition, arteriosclerosis or hypertension, cardiovascular disease and arthritis) and sociodemographic factors (i.e., sex and mar- ital status) at Wave 1 positively predicted incident abuse/dependence at Wave 2. Comorbid disorders increased the risk of NMPOU and abuse/dependence. Conclusion: These results suggest the importance of mental and physical comorbidity as a risk for NMPOU and abuse/dependence, emphasizing the need for careful screening practices when prescribing opioids.
Illicit opioid use following changes in opioids prescribed for chronic non-cancer pain
PLOS ONE, 2020
Background After decades of increased opioid pain reliever prescribing, providers are rapidly reducing prescribing. We hypothesized that reduced access to prescribed opioid pain relievers among patients previously reliant upon opioid pain relievers would result in increased illicit opioid use. Methods and findings We conducted a retrospective cohort study among 602 publicly insured primary care patients who had been prescribed opioids for chronic non-cancer pain for at least three consecutive months in San Francisco, recruited through convenience sampling. We conducted a historical reconstruction interview and medical chart abstraction focused on illicit substance use and opioid pain reliever prescriptions, respectively, from 2012 through the interview date in 2017-2018. We used a nested-cohort design, in which patients were classified, based on opioid pain reliever dose change, into a series of nested cohorts starting with each follow-up quarter. Using continuation-ratio models, we estimated associations between opioid prescription discontinuation or 30% increase or decrease in dose, relative to no change, and subsequent frequency of heroin and non-prescribed opioid pain reliever use, separately. Models controlled for demographics, clinical and behavioral characteristics, and past use of heroin or non-prescribed opioid pain relievers. A total of 56,372 and 56,484 participant-quarter observations were included from the 597 and 598 participants available for analyses of heroin and non-prescribed opioid pain reliever outcomes, respectively. Participants discontinued from prescribed opioids were more likely to use heroin (Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.25-1.97) and non-prescribed opioid pain relievers (AOR = 1.75, 1.45-2.11) more frequently in subsequent quarters compared to participants with unchanged opioid prescriptions. Participants whose opioid pain reliever dose increased were more likely to use heroin more frequently (AOR = 1.67, 1.32-2.12). Results held throughout sensitivity analyses. The main limitations were the observational nature of results and limited generalizability beyond safety-net settings.
The Journal of Pain, 2017
The relationships of characteristics of the initial opioid prescription and pain etiology with the probability of opioid discontinuation were explored in this retrospective cohort study using health insurance claims data from a nationally representative database of commercially insured patients in the U.S. We identified 1,353,902 persons aged ≥14 with no history of cancer or substance abuse, with new opioid use episodes and categorized them into 11 mutually exclusive pain etiologies. Cox Proportional Hazards models were estimated to identify factors associated with time to opioid discontinuation. After accounting for losses to follow-up, the probability of continued opioid use at one year was 5.3% across all subjects. Patients with chronic pain had the highest probability for continued opioid use followed by patients with inpatient admissions. Patients prescribed doses above 90 morphine milligram equivalents (HR=0.91, CI: 0.91-0.92); initiated on tramadol (HR=0.90, CI: 0.89-0.91) or long-acting opioids (HR=0.78, CI: 0.75-0.80); were less likely to discontinue opioids. Increasing days' supply of the first prescription was consistently associated with a lower likelihood of opioid discontinuation (HRs, CIs: 3-4 days' supply = 0.70, 0.70-0.71; 5-7 days' supply = 0.48, 0.47-0.48; 8-10 days' supply = 0.37, 0.37-0.38; 11-14 days' supply = 0.32, 0.31-0.33; 15-21 days' supply = 0.29, 0.28-0.29; ≥22 days supplied = 0.20, 0.19-0.20). The direction of this relationship was consistent across all pain etiologies. Clinicians should initiate patients with the lowest supply of opioids to mitigate unintentional long term opioid use. PERSPECTIVE: This study shows that characteristics of the first opioid prescription, particularly duration of the prescription, are significant predictors of continued opioid use irrespective of the indication for an opioid prescription. These data should encourage prescribers to initiate
July 2012, 2012
Both chronic pain and prescription opioid abuse are prevalent and continue to exact a heavy toll on patients, physicians, and society. Individuals with chronic pain and co-occurring substance use disorders and/or mental health disorders, are at a higher risk for misuse of prescribed opioids. Opioid abuse and misuse occurs for a variety of reasons, including self medication, use for reward, compulsive use because of addiction, and diversion for profit. Treatment approaches that balance treating chronic pain while minimizing risks for opioid abuse, misuse, and diversion are much needed. The use of chronic opioid therapy for chronic noncancer pain has increased dramatically in the past 2 decades in conjunction with a marked increase in the abuse of prescribed opioids and accidental opioid overdoses. Consequently, a validated screening instrument that provides an effective and rational method of selecting patients for opioid therapy, predicting risk, and identifying problems once they a...
Chronic pain, Addiction severity, and misuse of opioids in Cumberland County, Maine
Addictive Behaviors, 2012
Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between chronic pain and opioid abuse in nonclinical populations. We sought to investigate this in a street-recruited sample of active opioid abusers in Cumberland County, Maine, USA, a locale that had experienced substantial increases in opioid abuse. Methods: A community-based sample was recruited using respondent-driven sampling. Participants were screened to identify those who had consumed illicit opioids in the prior month and administered a structured survey that included the Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and Brief Pain Inventory® (BPI). Results: More than 40% of the 237 individuals reported recurring pain that interfered with daily living. For more than three-quarters of those reporting chronic pain, opioid misuse preceded the onset of chronic pain. The order of onset was not associated with differences in sociodemographic, current levels of drug misuse, or ASI and BPI scores. BPI scores were associated with medical and psychological ASI domains. Compared to those not reporting chronic pain, those doing so were more likely to have a regular physician but were more likely to report difficulty gaining admission to substance abuse treatment programs. Conclusion: Chronic pain was a common co-occurring condition among individuals misusing opioids. Better efforts are needed to integrate pain management and substance abuse treatment for this population.
PLoS ONE, 2011
Background: As a population, non-medical prescription opioid users are not well-defined. We aimed to derive and describe typologies of prescription opioid use and nonmedical use using latent class analysis in an adult population being assessed for substance abuse treatment. Methods: Latent class analysis was applied to data from 26,314 unique respondents, aged 18-70, self-reporting past month use of a prescription opioid out of a total of 138,928 cases (18.9%) collected by the Addiction Severity Index-Multimedia Version (ASI-MVH), a national database for near real-time prescription opioid abuse surveillance. Data were obtained from November 2005 through December 2009. Substance abuse treatment, criminal justice, and public assistance programs in the United States submitted data to the ASI-MV database (n = 538). Six indicators of the latent classes derived from responses to the ASI-MV, a version of the ASI modified to collect prescription opioid abuse and chronic pain experience. The latent class analysis included respondent home ZIP code random effects to account for nesting of respondents within ZIP code. Results: A four-class adjusted latent class model fit best and defined clinically interpretable and relevant subgroups: Use as prescribed, Prescribed misusers, Medically healthy abusers, and Illicit users. Classes varied on key variables, including race/ ethnicity, gender, concurrent substance abuse, duration of prescription opioid abuse, mental health problems, and ASI composite scores. Three of the four classes (81% of respondents) exhibited high potential risk for fatal opioid overdose; 18.4% exhibited risk factors for blood-borne infections. Conclusions: Multiple and distinct profiles of prescription opioid use were detected, suggesting a range of use typologies at differing risk for adverse events. Results may help clinicians and policy makers better focus overdose and blood-borne infection prevention efforts and intervention strategies for prescription opioid abuse reduction.