scholarly journals Provider Bias in Prescribing Opioid Analgesics: An Analysis of Emergency Department Electronic Medical Records

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Aronson ◽  
Lisa A Keister ◽  
James Moody
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Previous Treatment ◽  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
Opioid Prescription ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Prescribe Opioid

Abstract Background: Physicians do not prescribe opioid analgesics for pain treatment equally across groups, and such disparities may pose significant public health concerns. While research suggests that institutional constraints and cultural stereotypes influence doctors’ treatment of pain, prior quantitative evidence is mixed. The objective of this secondary analysis is therefore to clarify which institutional constraints and patient demographics truly bias provider prescribing of opioid analgesics.Methods: We used electronic medical record data from an emergency department of a large U.S hospital during years 2008-2014. We ran multi-level logistic regression models to estimate factors associated with providing an opioid prescription during a given visit while controlling for ICD-9 diagnosis and between-patient heterogeneity.Results: A total of 180,829 patient visits among 65,513 unique patients were recorded during the period of analysis. Overall, providers were significantly less likely to prescribe opioids to the same individual patient when the visit occurred during higher rates of emergency department crowding, earlier times of day, earlier times of the week, later years, and when the patient had received fewer previous opioid prescriptions. Across all patients, providers were significantly more likely to prescribe opioids to patients who were middle-aged, white, and married. We found no bias towards women and no interaction effects between race and crowding or between race and gender.Conclusions: Providers tend to undertreat pain during constrained diagnostic situations and undertreat pain for patients from high-risk and marginalized demographic groups. Harm from previous treatment mistakes are likely to accumulate through informing future treatment decisions.

scholarly journals Provider Bias in prescribing opioid analgesics: a study of electronic medical Records at a Hospital Emergency Department

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa A. Keister ◽  
Chad Stecher ◽  
Brian Aronson ◽  
William McConnell ◽  
Joshua Hustedt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Previous Treatment ◽  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
Treatment Decisions ◽  
Institutional Constraints ◽  
Opioid Prescription ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Logistic Regression Models

Abstract Background Physicians do not prescribe opioid analgesics for pain treatment equally across groups, and such disparities may pose significant public health concerns. Although research suggests that institutional constraints and cultural stereotypes influence doctors’ treatment of pain, prior quantitative evidence is mixed. The objective of this secondary analysis is therefore to clarify which institutional constraints and patient demographics bias provider prescribing of opioid analgesics. Methods We used electronic medical record data from an emergency department of a large U.S hospital during years 2008–2014. We ran multi-level logistic regression models to estimate factors associated with providing an opioid prescription during a given visit while controlling for ICD-9 diagnosis codes and between-patient heterogeneity. Results A total of 180,829 patient visits for 63,513 unique patients were recorded during the period of analysis. Overall, providers were significantly less likely to prescribe opioids to the same individual patient when the visit occurred during higher rates of emergency department crowding, later times of day, earlier in the week, later years in our sample, and when the patient had received fewer previous opioid prescriptions. Across all patients, providers were significantly more likely to prescribe opioids to patients who were middle-aged, white, and married. We found no bias towards women and no interaction effects between race and crowding or between race and sex. Conclusions Providers tend to prescribe fewer opioids during constrained diagnostic situations and undertreat pain for patients from high-risk and marginalized demographic groups. Potential harms resulting from previous treatment decisions may accumulate by informing future treatment decisions.

scholarly journals Opioid Overdose Risk in Patients Returning to the Emergency Department for Pain

Pain Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophia Sheikh ◽  
Ashley Booth-Norse ◽  
David Holden ◽  
Morgan Henson ◽  
Caroline Dodd ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Respiratory Depression ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Opioid Overdose ◽  
Prescription Opioids ◽  
Opioid Prescription ◽  
Risk Class ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Group 1

Abstract Objective Using the Risk Index for Overdose or Serious Opioid-induced Respiratory Depression (CIP-RIOSORD) in patients returning to the emergency department (ED) for pain and discharged with an opioid prescription, we assessed overall opioid overdose risk and compared risk in opioid naive patients to those who are non-opioid naive. Design This was a secondary analysis from a prospective observational study of patients ≥ 18 years old returning to the ED within 30 days. Data were collected from patient interviews and chart reviews. Patients were categorized as Group 1 (not using prescription opioids) or Group 2 (consuming prescription opioids). Statistical analyses were performed using Fisher’s exact and Wilcoxon’s rank sum tests. Risk class and probability of overdose was determined using Risk Index for Overdose or Serious Opioid-induced Respiratory Depression (CIP-RIOSORD). Results Of the 389 enrollees who returned to the ED due to pain within 30 days of an initial visit, 67 (17%) were prescribed opioids. The majority of these patients were in Group 1 (60%). Both Group 1 (n = 40) and Group 2 (n = 27) held an average CIP-RIOSORD risk class of 3. Race significantly differed between groups; the majority of Group 1 self-identified as African American (80%) (P = .0267). There were no differences in age, gender, or CIP-RIOSORD risk class between groups. However, Group 2 had nearly double the number of predictive factors (median = 1.93) as Group 1 (median = 1.18) (P = .0267). Conclusions A substantial proportion of patients (25%) were high risk for opioid overdose. CIP-RIOSORD may prove beneficial in risk stratification of patients discharged with prescription opioids from the ED.

Sending out Biased Signals: an Appropriate Proposition for Pain?

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Besserer-Offroy ◽  
P. Sarret
Keyword(s):  
Side Effects ◽  
Acute Pain ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
Mu Opioid Receptor ◽  
Clinical Development ◽  
Mu Opioid ◽  
Development Stages ◽  
The Past

In the past few years, several biased ligands acting at the mu-opioid receptor were reported in the literature. These agonists are aimed at reducing pain while having fewer side effects than morphine, the gold standard of opioid analgesics. In this mini-review, we describe and discuss the recent advances in mu-biased ligands actually in preclinical and clinical development stages, including the latest U.S. Food and Drug Administration review of oliceridine, a biased mu-agonist for moderate to severe acute pain treatment developed by the company Trevena.

scholarly journals Opioid availability statistics from the International Narcotics Control Board do not reflect the medical use of opioids: comparison with sales data from Scandinavia

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Bäckryd ◽  
Markus Heilig ◽  
Mikael Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Opioid Analgesics ◽  
Warning Signal ◽  
Control Board ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Opioid Prescription ◽  
Sales Data ◽  
Narcotics Control ◽  
Addiction Risk ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Prescription Rates

Abstract Objectives Opioid analgesics are essential in clinical practice, but their excessive use is associated with addiction risk. Increases in opioid prescription rates have fuelled an epidemic of opioid addiction in the USA, making statistics on medical opioid use a critical warning signal. A dramatic 150% increase in Swedish opioid access 2001–2013 was recently reported based on data from the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB; Berterame et al. 2016) in conflict with other studies of opioid use in the Nordic countries. This article aims to analyse to what degree published INCB statistics on opioids in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) reflect actual medical use and study the methodological reasons for putative discrepancies. Methods Data on aggregated total national sales of opioids for the whole population, including hospitals, were collected from the Swedish e-Health Authority. Total sales data for Denmark and drugs dispensed at pharmacies in Norway are publicly available through the relevant authorities’ websites. Results INCB opioid statistics during the period 2001–2013 were markedly inconsistent with sales data from Scandinavia, calling the reliability of INCB data into question. INCB-data were flawed by (a) over-representing the volume of fentanyl, (b) under-reporting of codeine, and (c) by not including tramadol. Conclusions Opioid availability, as expressed by INCB statistics, does not reflect medical opioid use. It is crucial to underline that INCB statistics are based on the manual compilation of national production, import and export data from manufacturers and drug companies. This is not the same amount that is prescribed and consumed within the health care system. Moreover, there are methodological problems in the INCB reports, in particular concerning fentanyl, codeine and tramadol. We suggest that INCB should carefully review the quality of their data on medical opioids.

scholarly journals Dysphagia Prevalence, Time Course, and Association with Probable Sarcopenia, Inactivity, Malnutrition, and Disease Status in Older Patients Admitted to an Emergency Department: A Secondary Analysis of Cohort Study Data

Geriatrics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Tina Hansen ◽  
Rikke Lundsgaard Nielsen ◽  
Morten Baltzer Houlind ◽  
Juliette Tavenier ◽  
Line Jee Hartmann Rasmussen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Systemic Inflammation ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Handgrip Strength ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Disease Status

There is evolving evidence for an association between dysphagia and sarcopenia in older adults. For optimizing the acute health care initiative across health care settings, this study investigated prevalence and time-course of dysphagia in older patients admitted to an emergency department (ED) as well as its association with parameters for probable sarcopenia, inactivity, malnutrition, disease status, and systemic inflammation. A secondary analysis of data from the FAM-CPH cohort study on acutely admitted older medical patients (n = 125). Data were collected upon ED admission as well as four and 56 weeks after discharge. Using the Eating Assessment Tool cut-off score ≥ 2, signs of dysphagia were present in 34% of the patients at ED admission and persisted in 25% of the patients 56 weeks after discharge. Signs of dysphagia at 56-week follow-up were significantly (p < 0.05) associated with probable sarcopenia (low handgrip strength (OR = 3.79), low leg muscle strength (OR = 8.14), and low physical performance (OR = 5.68)) and with baseline swallowing inactivity (OR = 5.61), malnutrition (OR = 4.35), and systemic inflammation (OR = 1.33). Signs of dysphagia in older patients admitted to an ED was prevalent, persisted 56 weeks after discharge, and was associated with probable sarcopenia and related conditions; all modifiable targets for management of dysphagia in older patients.

Association between Number of Prior Cesareans and Early Preterm Delivery in Women with Abnormal Placentation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayamo Oben ◽  
Elizabeth B. Ausbeck ◽  
Melissa N. Gazi ◽  
Akila Subramaniam ◽  
Lorie M. Harper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Preterm Delivery ◽  
Preterm Labor ◽  
Placenta Previa ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Blood Products ◽  
Primary Analysis ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Placenta Accreta Spectrum ◽  
Nicu Admission ◽  
Early Preterm Birth

Objective Delivery timing at 34 to 36 weeks is nationally recommended for pregnancies complicated by placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). However, it has recently been suggested that those with ≥2 prior cesarean deliveries (CD) and PAS should be delivered earlier than 34 weeks because of a higher risk of unscheduled delivery and complications. We sought to evaluate whether the number of prior CD in women with PAS is associated with early preterm delivery (PTD) (<34 weeks). We also evaluated the same relationship in women with placenta previa alone (without PAS). Study Design This is a secondary analysis of a multicenter and observational study that included women with prior CD (maternal–fetal medicine unit cesarean registry). Women with a diagnosis of PAS (regardless of placenta previa) were included for our primary analysis, and women with known placenta previa (without a component of PAS) were independently analyzed in a second analysis. Two groups of patients from the registry were studied: patients with PAS (regardless of placenta previa) and patients with placenta previa without PAS. The exposure of interest was the number of prior CD: ≥2 CD compared with <2 CD. The primary outcome was PTD <34 weeks. Secondary outcomes included preterm labor requiring hospitalization or tocolysis, transfusion of blood products, composites of maternal and neonatal morbidities, and NICU admission. Outcomes by prior CD number groups were compared in both cohorts. Backward selection was used to identify parsimonious logistic regression models. Results There were 194 women with PAS, 97 (50%) of whom had <2 prior CD and 97 (50%) of whom had ≥2 prior CD. The rate of PTD <34 weeks in women with ≥2 prior CD compared with <2 in the setting of PAS was 23.7 versus 29.9%, p = 0.27; preterm labor requiring hospitalization was 24.7 versus 13.5%; p = 0.05. The rates of plasma transfusion were increased with ≥2 prior CD (29.9 vs. 17.5%, p = 0.04), but there were no differences in transfusion of other products or in composite maternal or neonatal morbidities. After multivariable adjustments, having ≥2 CDs was not associated with PTD <34 weeks in women with PAS (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 0.73, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.39–13.8) despite an association with preterm labor requiring hospitalization (aOR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.15–6.32). In our second analysis, there were 687 women with placenta previa, 633 (92%) with <2 prior CD, and 54 (8%) with ≥2 prior CD. The rate of PTD <34 weeks with ≥2 CD in the setting of placenta previa was not significantly increased (27.8 vs. 22.1%, aOR: 1.49; 95% CI: 0.77–2.90, p = 0.08); the maternal composite outcome (aOR: 4.85; 95% CI: 2.43–9.67) and transfusion of blood products (aOR: 6.41; 95% CI: 2.30–17.82) were noted to be higher in the group with ≥2 prior CD. Conclusion Women with PAS who have had ≥2 prior CD as compared with women with <2 prior CD did not appear to have a higher risk of complications leading to delivery prior to 34 weeks. As such, considering the associated morbidity with early preterm birth, we would not recommend scheduled delivery prior to 34 weeks in this population. Key Points

scholarly journals The association between initial opioid type and long-term opioid use after hip fracture surgery in elderly opioid-naïve patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-764
Author(s):  
Amalie H. Simoni ◽  
Lone Nikolajsen ◽  
Anne E. Olesen ◽  
Christian F. Christiansen ◽  
Søren P. Johnsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hip Fracture ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Calendar Time ◽  
Opioid Prescription ◽  
Hip Fracture Surgery ◽  
Opioid Users ◽  
Fracture Surgery

AbstractObjectivesLong-term opioid use after hip fracture surgery has been demonstrated in previously opioid-naïve elderly patients. It is unknown if the opioid type redeemed after hip surgery is associated with long-term opioid use. The aim of this study was to examine the association between the opioid type redeemed within the first three months after hip fracture surgery and opioid use 3–12 months after the surgery.MethodsA nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted using data from Danish health registries (2005–2015). Previously opioid-naïve patients registered in the Danish Multidisciplinary Hip Fracture Registry, aged ≥65 years, who redeemed ≥1 opioid prescription within three months after the surgery, were included. Long-term opioid use was defined as ≥1 redeemed prescription within each of three three-month periods within the year after hip fracture surgery. The proportion with long-term opioid use after surgery, conditioned on nine-month survival, was calculated according to opioid types within three months after surgery. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for different opioid types were computed by logistic regression analyses with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using morphine as reference. Subgroup analyses were performed according to age, comorbidity and calendar time before and after 2010.ResultsThe study included 26,790 elderly, opioid-naïve patients with opioid use within three months after hip fracture surgery. Of these patients, 21% died within nine months after the surgery. Among the 21,255 patients alive nine months after surgery, 15% became long-term opioid users. Certain opioid types used within the first three months after surgery were associated with long-term opioid use compared to morphine (9%), including oxycodone (14%, aOR; 1.76, 95% CI 1.52–2.03), fentanyl (29%, aOR; 4.37, 95% CI 3.12–6.12), codeine (13%, aOR; 1.55, 95% CI 1.14–2.09), tramadol (13%, aOR; 1.56, 95% CI 1.35–1.80), buprenorphine (33%, aOR; 5.37, 95% CI 4.14–6.94), and >1 opioid type (27%, aOR; 3.83, 95% CI 3.31–4.44). The proportion of long-term opioid users decreased from 18% before 2010 to 13% after 2010.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that use of certain opioid types after hip fracture surgery is more associated with long-term opioid use than morphine and the proportion initiating long-term opioid use decreased after 2010. The findings suggest that some elderly, opioid-naïve patients appear to be presented with untreated pain conditions when seen in the hospital for a hip fracture surgery. Decisions regarding the opioid type prescribed after hospitalization for hip fracture surgery may be linked to different indication for pain treatment, emphasizing the likelihood of careful and conscientious opioid prescribing behavior.

Association Between Opioid Use and Diabetes in Patients With Ankle Fracture Repair

2021 ◽  
pp. 107110072110581
Author(s):  
Wenye Song ◽  
Naohiro Shibuya ◽  
Daniel C. Jupiter
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Mellitus ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Ankle Fracture ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Fracture Repair ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Opioid Prescription ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Patients With Diabetes

Background: Ankle fractures in patients with diabetes mellitus have long been recognized as a challenge to practicing clinicians. Ankle fracture patients with diabetes may experience prolonged healing, higher risk of hardware failure, an increased risk of wound dehiscence and infection, and higher pain scores pre- and postoperatively, compared to patients without diabetes. However, the duration of opioid use among this patient cohort has not been previously evaluated. The purpose of this study is to retrospectively compare the time span of opioid utilization between ankle fracture patients with and without diabetes mellitus. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using our institution’s TriNetX database. A total of 640 ankle fracture patients were included in the analysis, of whom 73 had diabetes. All dates of opioid use for each patient were extracted from the data set, including the first and last date of opioid prescription. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression models were employed to explore the differences in opioid use between patients with and without diabetes after ankle fracture repair. A 2-tailed P value of .05 was set as the threshold for statistical significance. Results: Logistic regression models revealed that patients with diabetes are less likely to stop using opioids within 90 days, or within 180 days, after repair compared to patients without diabetes. Female sex, neuropathy, and prefracture opioid use are also associated with prolonged opioid use after ankle fracture repair. Conclusion: In our study cohort, ankle fracture patients with diabetes were more likely to require prolonged opioid use after fracture repair. Level of Evidence: Level III, prognostic.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document