Evaluating Opioid Dispensing Rates among Pediatrics and Young Adults based on CURES Data Reporting in California from 2015-2019.

BACKGROUND: Receipt of opioid prescriptions in pediatric and young adult patients may be a risk factor for future opioid misuse. Data from prescription drug monitoring programs provide insight on outpatient opioid use. In our study, we analyzed the opioid dispensing rates for pediatrics and young adults in California. METHODS: A secondary analysis was performed from 2015-2019 using Controlled Utilization Review and Evaluation System data. This database provides dispensing data of controlled substances in California. Patients younger than 25 years who were prescribed opiates were analyzed by county. We further divided them into two groups (children: ≤14 years; adolescents and young adult: 15-24 years). Descriptive statistics and heat maps were used to illustrate the trends in opioid usage among different age groups. RESULTS: The overall percentages for the number of opioids being dispensed to patients aged <25 years have decreased over the past four years. In 2015, 6 out of 58 counties in California were considered "high-rate" with >2.9% of opioids dispensed to patients younger than 25 years old; in 2019, this number reduced to zero. Patients 25 and older received a higher proportion of opioids compared to younger populations; in 2019, 35.91% of opioids were dispensed to patients 45-64, and 8.92% to patients younger than 25. CONCLUSION: Pediatric opioid prescriptions have declined over the recent years. However, a high degree of variability of prescription rates between demographic counties was noted. More studies are warranted in order to understand this discrepancy in opioid prescribing among pediatric and young adult patients.

Racial and ethnic disparities in opioid use for adolescents at US emergency departments.

BACKGROUND: Racial/ethnic disparities in the use of opioids to treat pain disorders have been previously reported in the emergency department (ED). Further research is needed to better evaluate the impact race/ethnicity may have on the use of opioids in adolescents for the management of pain disorders in the ED. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2006 to 2016. Multivariate models were used to evaluate the role of race/ethnicity in the receipt of opioid agonists while in the ED. All ED visits with patients aged 11-21 years old were analyzed. Races/ethnicities were stratified as non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics. In addition to race, statistical analysis included the following covariates: pain score, pain diagnosis, age, region, sex, and payment method. RESULTS: There was a weighted total of 189,256,419 ED visits. Those visits involved 109,826,315 (58%) non-Hispanic Whites, 46,314,977 (24%) non-Hispanic Blacks, and 33,115,127 (18%) Hispanics, with 21.6% (95% CI, 21.1%-22.1), 15.2% (95% CI, 14.6-15.9%), and 17.4% (95% CI, 16.5-18.2%) of those visits reporting use of opioids, respectively. Regardless of age, sex, and region, non-Hispanic Whites received opioids at a higher rate than non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics. Based on diagnosis, non-Hispanic Whites received opioids at a higher rate in multiple pain diagnoses. Additionally, non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics were less likely to receive an opioid when reporting moderate pain (aOR = 0.738, 95% CI 0.601-0.906, aOR = 0.739, 95% CI 0.578-0.945, respectively) and severe pain (aOR = 0.580, 95% CI 0.500-0.672, aOR = 0.807, 95% CI 0.685-0.951, respectively) compared to non-Hispanic Whites. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in the receipt of opioid agonists in EDs among the races/ethnicities exist, with more non-Hispanic Whites receiving opioids than their minority counterparts. Non-Hispanic Black women may be an especially marginalized population. Further investigation into sex-based and regional differences are needed.

Anxiety and Mood Disorders Impacting Physician Opioid Prescribing in the Pediatric Hospital Setting.

This research examined whether pediatric inpatients without an anxiety/mood disorder are more likely to receive opioids in response to pain compared to patients diagnosed with a mental health condition. Research questions were tested using cross-sectional inpatient electronic medical record data. Propensity score matching was used to match patients with a disorder with patients without the disorder (anxiety analyses: N = 2892; mood analyses: N = 1042). Although patients with anxiety and mood disorders experienced greater pain, physicians were less likely to order opioids for these patients. Analyses also disclosed an interaction of anxiety with pain-the pain-opioid relation was stronger for patients without an anxiety disorder than for patients with an anxiety diagnosis. Instead, physicians were more likely to place non-opioid analgesic orders to manage the pain of patients with anxiety disorders. Findings imply that pain management decisions might be influenced by patient's mental health.

Evaluating the 0-10 Point Pain Scale on Adolescent Opioid Use in US Emergency Departments.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate trends in national emergency department (ED) adolescent opioid use in relation to reported pain scores. METHODS: A retrospective, cross-sectional analysis on National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) data was conducted on ED visits involving patients aged 11-21 from 2008-2017. Crude observational counts were extrapolated to weighted estimates matching total population counts. Multivariate models were used to evaluate the role of a pain score in the reported use of opioids. Anchors for pain scores were 0 (no pain) and 10 (worst pain imaginable). RESULTS: 31,355 observations were captured, which were extrapolated by the NHAMCS to represent 162,515,943 visits nationwide. Overall, patients with a score of 10 were 1.35 times more likely to receive an opioid than patients scoring a 9, 41.7% (CI95 39.7-43.8%) and 31.0% (CI95 28.8-33.3%), respectively. Opioid use was significantly different between traditional pain score cutoffs of mild (1-3) and moderate pain (4-6), where scores of 4 were 1.76 times more likely to receive an opioid than scores of 3, 15.5% (CI95 13.7-17.3%) and 8.8% (CI95 7.1-10.6%), respectively. Scores of 7 were 1.33 times more likely to receive opioids than scores of 6, 24.7% (CI95 23.0-26.3%) and 18.5% (CI95 16.9-20.0%), respectively. Fractures had the highest likelihood of receiving an opioid, as 49.2% of adolescents with a fracture received an opioid (CI95 46.4-51.9%). Within this subgroup, only adolescents reporting a fracture pain score of 10 had significantly higher opioid use than adjacent pain scores, where fracture patients scoring a 10 were 1.4 times more likely to use opioids than those scoring 9, 82.2% (CI95 76.1-88.4%) and 59.8% (CI95 49.0-70.5%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: While some guidelines in the adult population have revised cut-offs and groupings of the traditional tiers on a 0-10 point pain scale, the adolescent population may also require further examination to potentially warrant a similar adjustment.

Parent responses to pediatric pain: The differential effects of ethnicity on opioid consumption.

OBJECTIVE: Within the context of the United States opioid epidemic, some parents often fear the use of opioids to help manage their children's postoperative pain. As a possible consequence, parents often do not dispense optimal analgesic medications to their children after surgery, putting their children at risk of suffering from postsurgical pain. The objective of this research was to assess ethnicity as a predictor of both pain and opioid consumption, and to examine how Hispanic/Latinx and Non-Hispanic White parents alter their child's opioid consumption in response to significant postsurgical pain. METHODS: Participants were 254 children undergoing outpatient tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy surgery and their parents. Longitudinal multilevel modeling examined changes in both parent-reported pain and hydrocodone/APAP consumption (mg/kg) on days 1 to 7 after surgery. RESULTS: Parent reports of postoperative pain were higher in Hispanic/Latinx patients compared to their Non-Hispanic White counterparts (ß = -0.15; 95% CI: -0.28, -0.01). There was also a significant interaction of ethnicity and pain on opioid consumption (ß = 0.07; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.13). The relationship between parent perceived pain and opioid use was stronger for Non-Hispanic White children, suggesting that this group was more likely to consume opioids to help manage clinically significant postsurgical pain. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic/Latinx children might be at risk for undertreatment of surgical pain. Findings highlight the importance of assessing parent background and cultural beliefs as predictors of at home pain management and the potential effectiveness of tailored interventions that educate parents about monitoring and treating child postoperative pain.

Children's cancer pain in a world of the opioid epidemic: Challenges and opportunities.

The opioid crisis in the United States has grown at an alarming rate. Children with cancer are at high risk for pain, and opioids are a first-line treatment in this population. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to optimize pain management in children with cancer without contributing to the opioid crisis. This report details opportunities for this optimization, including clinical practice guidelines, comprehensive approaches to pain management, mobile health, and telemedicine. It is vital to balance appropriate use of analgesics with efforts to prevent misuse in order to reduce unnecessary suffering and minimize unintended harms.