TY - JOUR
T1 - Patterns and Correlates of Prescription Opioid Use in OEF/OIF Veterans with Chronic Noncancer Pain
AU - Macey, Tara A.
AU - Morasco, Benjamin J.
AU - Duckart, Jonathan P.
AU - Dobscha, Steven K.
N1 - Funding Information:
We appreciate comments from Teresa Hudson, Pharm D., on a prior draft of this manuscript. This material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Portland VA Medical Center. This study was supported in part by award K23DA023467 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to Dr. Morasco. Jonathan Duckart, MPS, was supported by a Research Enhancement Award Program grant (REA 06-174) from the VA Health Services Research and Development service. The authors appreciate the statistical support provided from the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, grant number Ul1RR024140 from the National Institutes of Health. The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Department of Veterans Affairs. No author reports having any potential conflict of interest with this study.
PY - 2011/10
Y1 - 2011/10
N2 - Objectives. Little is known about the treatment Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans receive for chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). We sought to describe the prevalence of prescription opioid use, types, and doses of opioids received and to identify correlates of receiving prescription opioids for CNCP among OEF/OIF veterans. Design. Retrospective review of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data. Setting. Ambulatory clinics within a VA regional health care network. Patients. OEF/OIF veterans who had at least three elevated pain screening scores within a 12-month period in 2008. Within this group, those prescribed opioids (N=485) over the next 12 months were compared with those not prescribed opioids (N=277). In addition, patients receiving opioids short term (<90 days, N=284) were compared with patients receiving them long term (≥90 consecutive days, N=201). Results. Of 762 OEF/OIF veterans with CNCP, 64% were prescribed at least one opioid medication over the 12 months following their index dates. Of those prescribed an opioid, 59% were prescribed opioids short term and 41% were prescribed opioids long term. The average morphine-equivalent opioid dose for short-term users was 23.7mg (standard deviation [SD]=20.5) compared with 40.8mg (SD=36.1) for long-term users (P<0.001). Fifty-one percent of long-term opioid users were prescribed short-acting opioids only, and one-third were also prescribed sedative hypnotics. In adjusted analyses, diagnoses of low back pain, migraine headache, posttraumatic stress disorder, and nicotine use disorder were associated with an increased likelihood of receiving an opioid prescription. Conclusion. Prescription opioid use is common among OEF/OIF veterans with CNCP and is associated with several pain diagnoses and medical conditions. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
AB - Objectives. Little is known about the treatment Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) veterans receive for chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). We sought to describe the prevalence of prescription opioid use, types, and doses of opioids received and to identify correlates of receiving prescription opioids for CNCP among OEF/OIF veterans. Design. Retrospective review of Veterans Affairs (VA) administrative data. Setting. Ambulatory clinics within a VA regional health care network. Patients. OEF/OIF veterans who had at least three elevated pain screening scores within a 12-month period in 2008. Within this group, those prescribed opioids (N=485) over the next 12 months were compared with those not prescribed opioids (N=277). In addition, patients receiving opioids short term (<90 days, N=284) were compared with patients receiving them long term (≥90 consecutive days, N=201). Results. Of 762 OEF/OIF veterans with CNCP, 64% were prescribed at least one opioid medication over the 12 months following their index dates. Of those prescribed an opioid, 59% were prescribed opioids short term and 41% were prescribed opioids long term. The average morphine-equivalent opioid dose for short-term users was 23.7mg (standard deviation [SD]=20.5) compared with 40.8mg (SD=36.1) for long-term users (P<0.001). Fifty-one percent of long-term opioid users were prescribed short-acting opioids only, and one-third were also prescribed sedative hypnotics. In adjusted analyses, diagnoses of low back pain, migraine headache, posttraumatic stress disorder, and nicotine use disorder were associated with an increased likelihood of receiving an opioid prescription. Conclusion. Prescription opioid use is common among OEF/OIF veterans with CNCP and is associated with several pain diagnoses and medical conditions. Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
KW - Chronic Pain
KW - Opioids
KW - Pain/Drug Therapy
KW - Veteran
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01226.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1526-4637.2011.01226.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 21899715
AN - SCOPUS:80255137065
SN - 1526-2375
VL - 12
SP - 1502
EP - 1509
JO - Pain Medicine
JF - Pain Medicine
IS - 10
ER -