Osteoarthritis Patients Still Receiving Opioid Prescriptions

Annual rates of opioid prescriptions remain stable among US patients with joint, hip, and/or knee osteoarthritis, according to a recent study. Patients with higher opioid prescription rates were those living in the southern United States and those aged 49 years or younger.

Although evidence questioning the benefits of opioids has grown amid the US opioid epidemic, rates of opioid prescriptions for osteoarthritis pain management have remained stable.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Osteoarthritis Pathology Potentially Associated with Estrogen
Study Questions Corticosteroid Injections For Knee Osteoarthritis
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In their study, the researchers obtained patient data between 2007 and 2014 from the Humana, Inc administrative claims database. The International Classification of Diseases 9th Revision (ICD-9) was used to identify patients with osteoarthritis and classify their condition as hip, knee, or any joint osteoarthritis.

The researchers reviewed claims data to identify opioid prescriptions associated with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Rates of opioid prescribing were trended over time and stratified by sex, age, and geographic region.

Results indicated that opioids were prescribed to 17% of patients with any joint osteoarthritis, 13.4% with hip osteoarthritis, and 15.9% with knee osteoarthritis between 2007 and 2014, with annual rates remaining stable over this time period. Patients who were most likely to receive an opioid prescription were those living in the southern United States and those aged 49 years or younger.

“This study provides important epidemiologic data about the use of opioids for osteoarthritis,” the researchers concluded. “Despite increasing evidence calling proposed benefits into question and increasing awareness of risks of opioids, prescribing rates remained stable between 2007-2014. This provides important baseline data as we work to combat excessive and inappropriate opioid use within the United States.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

DeMik DE, Bedard NA, Dowdle SB, Burnett RA, McHugh MA, Callaghan JJ. Are we still prescribing opioids for osteoarthritis? [Published online July 25, 2017]. J Arthroplasty. doi:10.1016/j.arth.2017.07.030.