A Single Refill Greatly Increases Opioid Abuse Risk

A single refill of postsurgical opioids is associated with an increased potential of misuse by over 40%, according to the results of a recent study.

In order to quantify the effects of opioid prescribing patterns following surgery on the risk of dependence, overdose, or abuse, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 1,015,116 opioid naïve patients undergoing surgery.
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Opioid use after discharge was measured by refills and total dosage and duration of use.

Overall, 568,612 (56.0%) patients received postsurgical opioids, with abuse identified in 5906 (0.6%) patients. The duration of opioid use was the strongest predictor of misuse, with each refill and additional week of use associated with an increase in the rate of misuse of 44.0% and 19.9%, respectively.

“Our findings are important as they offer a potential lever for intervention and behavior change after surgery,” the researchers concluded.

“Further research of this relation is needed to determine how initial treatment regimens can minimize misuse and addiction.”

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Brat GA, Agniel D, Beam A, et al. Postsurgical prescriptions for opioid naive patients and association with overdose and misuse: retrospective cohort study [published online January 17, 2018]. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5790.