Opioid Use Raises Pneumococcal Risk

Prescription opioid use is associated with an increased risk for invasive pneumococcal diseases (IPD), the results of a new study show.

For their study, researchers assessed 1233 case patients aged 5 years or older with IPD, along with 24,399 matched controls.
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Pharmacy prescription fills were used to measure participants’ opioid use. The likelihood of current opioid use was compared between IPD patients and controls. In secondary analyses, the researchers categorized participants based on opioid use, calculated IPD risk scores, and separately assessed pneumonia and nonpneumonia cases of IPD.

Results indicated that case patients were more likely to be current opioid users than controls (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.62). The researchers noted that these associations were strongest for opioids that were long acting (aOR 1.87), of high potency (aOR 1.72), or were used at high dosages (50 to 90 morphine milligram equivalents [MME] per day: aOR 1.71; at least 90 MME per day: aOR 1.75).

“Opioid use is associated with an increased risk for IPD and represents a novel risk factor for these diseases,” the researchers concluded.

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Wiese AD, Griffin MR, Schaffner W, et al. Opioid analgesic use and risk for invasive pneumococcal diseases: a nested case-control study [Published online February 13, 2018]. Ann Intern Med. doi:10.7326/M17-1907.