Abstract
While current opioid prescribing guidelines highlight a dose-response relationship between therapeutic management and overdose risk, other concurrent risk factors have also been identified. However, there is little data in assessing the relationship between risk factor prevalence, associated provider communication, and subsequent perceptions of overdose risk among chronic pain, opioid-managed (CPOM) patients. An online questionnaire was distributed in June 2020 to a sample of CPOM individuals (n = 190) treated with an opioid prescription at or above 50 daily MME, or any dosage alongside benzodiazepines. CPOM individuals reported a mean daily MME of 470, with half (52.6%) receiving a concurrent benzodiazepine prescription. All patients reported past month alcohol use, and 67.4% indicated a risk-elevating diagnosed medical condition. In assessing provider communication, 41.6% reported no discussion focusing on the risks of one’s opioid therapy. Subsequently, 62.1% perceived themselves as having “no risk”, and 60.0% were “not at all concerned” (60.0%) about experiencing an opioid overdose. Organizational policies should focus on implementing consistent methods of patient education regarding overdose risk, as well as assessments of behaviors or characteristics that my increase an individual’s risk of opioid overdose. These policies should also include other forms of evidence-based overdose risk prevention such as co-prescriptions of naloxone.
Highlights
Drug overdose fatalities continue to be a primary public health concern in the UnitedStates, with over 93,000 deaths attributed to a drug overdose in 2020, the highest number ever reported [1]
While much of the recent focus has been on the influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and heroin, which carry greater potency and lethality, prescription opioid analgesics continue to make up a significant proportion of opioid overdose fatalities
These data suggest that individuals with chronic pain, prescribed a daily opioid regimen above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guidelines risk cut-off of 50 milligram equivalents (MME) have a multitude of other risk factors that may additively increase one’s risk of an overdose event
Summary
Drug overdose fatalities continue to be a primary public health concern in the United. With over 93,000 deaths attributed to a drug overdose in 2020, the highest number ever reported [1]. While much of the recent focus has been on the influx of illicitly manufactured fentanyl and heroin, which carry greater potency and lethality, prescription opioid analgesics continue to make up a significant proportion of opioid overdose fatalities. In order to mitigate the risk of overdose from prescription opioid analgesics and encourage evidence-based, responsible opioid prescribing, the CDC released the “CDC. While evidence suggests decreases in opioid prescriptions following publication of the CDC Guidelines [5,6,7,8], dispensed opioids remain high in the United States, at a rate of 43.3 prescriptions per 100 people in 2020 [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
