Patterns of Opioid Administration Among Opioid-Naive Inpatients and Associations With Postdischarge Opioid Use: A Cohort Study -

Patterns of Opioid Administration Among Opioid-Naive Inpatients and Associations With Postdischarge Opioid Use: A Cohort Study
Information type: Other primary research
Source: Annals of Internal Medicine
Specialities: Anaesthesia and pain
Summary
This retrospective analysis of opioid-naïve patients admitted to community and academic hospitals in Pennsylvania suggests receipt of any opioids in the hospital was associated with nearly twice the probability of continued outpatient use.
UKMi comment
A related editorial discusses the findings of this study, highlighting that avoiding the first prescription in opioid-naive patients may reduce incident long-term use and associated harms. Additionally, it may be useful to develop protocols to pursue nonopioid analgesic use before opioid use during hospitalisations and to attempt to taper opioid doses before discharge.
Related links: Editorial