Jump to content

Study, May/19: Opioid & benzo prescriptions for osteoarthritis remain prevalent


[La...]

Recommended Posts

The full title of this American study is "Opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions for osteoarthritis remain prevalent".

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31127868 

 

Abstract

 

BACKGROUND:

 

Opioids and benzodiazepines are commonly used for management of osteoarthritis despite evidence-based recommendations to the contrary. This study aims to quantify the prevalence of opioid and benzodiazepine prescribing for osteoarthritis. Additionally, we aim to characterize risk factors for prescription drug misuse, abuse, and diversion among this population.

 

METHODS:

 

We conducted a descriptive analysis of adult outpatient encounters with a primary diagnosis of osteoarthritis during a one-year period at a large healthcare system, excluding cancer and outpatient procedures. Demographic data, prescription data, and patient-specific risk factors were collected. Descriptive analysis was conducted to characterize arthritis patients who received and did not receive prescription opioids.

 

RESULTS:

 

 

During one year, our system had 31,123 outpatient encounters for osteoarthritis. Opioids and benzodiazepines were prescribed for nearly 27% of the encounters (n=8,420). 43% of the encounters involved patients >65 years old. Hydrocodone-acetaminophen was the most common medication prescribed (34.3%). Most prescriptions were written by pain specialists (53%). 35.5% had a risk factor for prescription misuse, the most prevalent being "early refill" and a history of receiving 3 or more prescriptions in the past month.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

 

Opioids and benzodiazepines continue to be written for osteoarthritis. These prescriptions may pose a risk for adverse outcomes since greater than one in 5 patients receiving prescriptions had a risk factor for misuse. Continued efforts to improve compliance with evidence-based guidelines as well as multimodal and alternative pain management pathways are critical to help curb the use of opioids for management of osteoarthritis-related pain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really? I can't get opiods to save my life. I have OA and the drugs they want to give me for it are just bad, bad, bad. I don't see how anyone can take them and live a long healthy life. And after ten years, all the benzos are doing is contributing to the pain.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...