Abstract TP452: Long Term Opioid Use in Patients With Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Background: Headache and neck pain are common in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) throughout their course. Because pain is often a sequela, these patients are at risk for opioid dependence. Long term opioid use has not been well studied in this population. Methods: We analyzed a cohort of consecutive patients who were admitted with diagnosis of aSAH to an academic referral center from 2015 to 2018. We excluded patients who died during hospitalization or were discharged to hospice or were previously taking any opioids. The following variables were collected: demographics, any opioid use during hospitalization, short-term low-dose steroid use (mostly for headache management but some cases for immediate post craniotomy for aneurysm clipping), opioid prescription at the time of discharge and 3-month or longer opioid use verified by pharmacy and any follow up out patient records. Results: Of 200 patients with aSAH, 144 patients (72%) met our inclusion criteria. Mean age was 58 years (SD 14.8); Ninety-four patients (65%) were women; All patients received opioids at some point during hospitalization but 66% (96/144) were discharged with opioid prescription. Of these, 31% (30/96) continued to use opioids at ≥3 months. The overall rate of chronic opioid use was 20% (30/144). The rate of opioid prescription at discharge was 72% (52/72) in patients who received short course steroids and 61% (44/72) in patients who did not receive steroids. (p=0.21; OR 2.6, 95% CI 0.82-3.3). Steroids did not prevent long term opioid use. (p=0.30; OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.26-1.3) Conclusion: Opioids are regularly used as the main treatment option for pain control in patients with aSAH. A noteworthy number of patients continue to use opioids beyond their initial hospitalization. Steroid use does not prevent long term opioid use in these patients. Non-opioid pain control strategies should be explored in the future.