Racial differences in opioid prescribing for children in the United States

Opioids or Steroids for Pneumonia or Sinusitis

OBJECTIVES

To compare the frequency of opioid and corticosteroid prescriptions dispensed for children with pneumonia or sinusitis visits on the basis of location of care.

METHODS

We evaluated 2016 South Carolina Medicaid claims data for 5 to 18 years olds with pneumonia or sinusitis. Visits were associated with 1 of 3 locations: the emergency department (ED), urgent care, or the ambulatory setting.

RESULTS

Inclusion criteria were met by 31 838 children. Pneumonia visits were more often linked to an opioid prescription in the ED (34 of 542 [6.3%]) than in ambulatory settings (24 of 1590 [1.5%]; P ≤ .0001) and were more frequently linked to a steroid prescription in the ED (106 of 542 [19.6%]) than in ambulatory settings (196 of 1590 [12.3%]; P ≤ .0001). Sinusitis visits were more often linked to an opioid prescription in the ED (202 of 2705 [7.5%]) than in ambulatory settings (568 of 26 866 [2.1%]; P ≤ .0001) and were more frequently linked to a steroid prescription in the ED (510 of 2705 [18.9%]) than in ambulatory settings (1922 of 26 866 [7.2%]; P ≤ .0001). In logistic regression for children with pneumonia, the ED setting was associated with increased odds of receiving an opioid (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.69) or steroid (aOR 1.67). Similarly, patients with sinusitis were more likely to be prescribed opioids (aOR 4.02) or steroids (aOR 3.05) in the ED than in ambulatory sites.

CONCLUSIONS

School-aged children received opioid and steroid prescriptions for pneumonia or sinusitis at a higher frequency in the ED versus the ambulatory setting.

Optimism and opioid misuse among justice-involved children

AIM

Adolescents in the criminal justice system, called justice-involved children (JIC), are particularly vulnerable in the modern opioid misuse (OM) epidemic. After release, relapse and overdose occur at higher rates than the general population. The current study assesses optimism and likelihood of P30D consumption of non-prescription or illicit opioids among JIC.

METHODS

The study examines a sample of 79,960 JIC from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Multivariate logistic regression was employed, controlling for gender, race, family income, age, history of mental problems, history of depression, and county of residence.

RESULTS

JIC who reported very low optimism on the final screen had over 8 times the odds of meeting criteria for P30D OM compared to those with high optimism while adjusting for covariates.

CONCLUSIONS

Further research is needed to understand the potential for optimism to serve as a protective factor. Optimism can be developed, and therefore can possibly be incorporated to design novel interventions or integrated into empirically validated treatment programs to precipitate uptake.

The use of opioids in low acuity pediatric trauma patients

OBJECTIVE

To describe temporal trends and factors associated with opioid administration among children discharged from the emergency department (ED) after a trauma visit.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study of ED visits for children <19 years old who received a trauma-related diagnosis and were discharged from the ED. Data were obtained from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey 2006-2015.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Administration of an opioid medication either during the ED visit or as a discharge prescription. Survey-adjusted regression analyses were used to determine the probability of a patient receiving an opioid medication.

RESULTS

During the study period, there were 19,241 pediatric trauma visits discharged from the ED, of which 14% were associated with an opioid. Opioid administration decreased by nearly 30% during the study period (p<0.001 for trend). In multivariable analysis, patient factors associated with opioid administration were adolescent age, evening visit, region of the country, and severe pain score. The diagnosis associated with the most opioids was ankle sprain and the diagnosis with the highest rate of opioid administration was radius fracture. The most common opioid administered to children under 12 years of age was acetaminophen-codeine.

CONCLUSIONS

Opioid administration appears to be decreasing among pediatric patients presenting to the ED with trauma, but a high number of children continue to be exposed to opioids every year. Further education on opioid sparing pain management strategies may be warranted to decrease opioid exposure, including the inappropriate use of codeine, in this low risk trauma population.

Racial Disparities in Postpartum Pain Management

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate racial and ethnic differences in women's postpartum pain scores, inpatient opioid administration, and discharge opioid prescriptions.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all deliveries at a single high-volume tertiary care center from December 1, 2015, through November 30, 2016. Women were included if they self-identified as non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, or Hispanic; were at least 18 years of age; and did not have documented allergies to nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs or morphine. Medical records were queried for three outcomes: 1) patient-reported postpartum pain score (on a scale of 0-10) at discharge (dichotomized less than 5 or 5 or higher), 2) inpatient opioid dosing during postpartum hospitalization (reported as morphine milligram equivalents [MMEs] per postpartum day), and 3) receipt of an opioid prescription at discharge. The associations between each of these outcomes and maternal race-ethnicity were assessed using multivariable logistic regression models with random effects to account for clustering by discharge physician. A sensitivity analysis was conducted in which women of different race and ethnicity were matched using propensity scores.

RESULTS

A total of 9,900 postpartum women were eligible for analysis. Compared with non-Hispanic white women, Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women had significantly greater odds of reporting a pain score of 5 or higher (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.61, 95% 1.26-2.06 and aOR 2.18, 95% 1.63-2.91, respectively) but received significantly fewer inpatient MMEs/d (adjusted β -5.03, 95% CI -6.91 to -3.15, and adjusted β -3.54, 95% CI -5.88 to -1.20, respectively). Additionally, Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women were significantly less likely to receive an opioid prescription at discharge (aOR 0.80, 95% CI 0.67 to -0.96 and aOR 0.78, 95% CI 0.62-0.98) compared with non-Hispanic white women. Results of the propensity score analysis largely corroborated those of the primary analysis, with the exception that the difference in inpatient MMEs/d between non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black women did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women experience disparities in pain management in the postpartum setting that cannot be explained by less perceived pain.

Trajectories of prescription drug misuse during the transition from late adolescence into adulthood in the USA: a national longitudinal multicohort study

BACKGROUND

Prescription drug misuse is most prevalent during young adulthood (ages 18-25 years). We aimed to identify prescription drug misuse trajectories for three drug classes (opioids, stimulants, and sedatives or tranquilisers) from adolescence into adulthood, assess the extent to which different trajectories are associated with symptoms of substance use disorder, and identity factors associated with high-risk prescription drug misuse trajectories.

METHODS

For this longitudinal multicohort study, nationally representative probability samples of 51 223 adolescents in the USA were followed up across eight waves from age 18 years (cohorts 1976-96) to age 35 years. Data were collected via self-administered paper questionnaires.

FINDINGS

Five prescription drug misuse trajectories were identified and the defining characteristic that differentiated the five trajectories was the age when past-year prescription drug misuse high frequency peaked: rare or no misuse at any age, peak at age 18 years, peak at ages 19-20 years, peak at age 23-24 years, and peak at ages 27-28 years. Similar prescription drug misuse trajectories were identified for each prescription drug class. The later peak misuse trajectory for sedatives and tranquilisers crested at an older age (35 years) than that for the other drug classes. Prescription drug misuse trajectories were all associated with significantly greater odds of having two or more substance use disorder symptoms at age 35 years, especially the later peak trajectories. In controlled analyses, risk factors associated with the high-risk latest peak prescription drug misuse trajectory included high school heavy drinking, cigarette smoking, marijuana use, poly-prescription drug misuse, white race, and not completing a 4-year university degree.

INTERPRETATION

Prescription drug misuse trajectories are heterogeneous, and any high-frequency prescription drug misuse is a strong risk factor for development of substance use disorders during adulthood, especially later-peak prescription drug misuse trajectories. These findings might help practitioners identify individuals at greatest risk for substance use disorders and target intervention strategies.

FUNDING

National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health.

Racial Disparities in Receipt of Postoperative Opioids After Pediatric Cholecystectomy

BACKGROUND

Pediatric postoperative opioid prescribing has come under scrutiny as a result of the ongoing opioid epidemic. Previous research has demonstrated that African American adults are less likely to receive analgesics, particularly opioids, after surgery, even after controlling for pain severity. We sought to examine racial disparities in the filling of opioid prescriptions by pediatric surgical patients after cholecystectomy.

METHODS

We studied patients aged 1 to 18 y who were enrolled in Ohio Medicaid and underwent cholecystectomy. Procedures performed in January 2013-July 2016 were included. The percentage of patients who filled a postoperative opioid prescription within 14 d of their procedure was compared between black and white patients using log binomial regression models fit using generalized estimating equations to account for patient clustering within hospitals.

RESULTS

We identified 1277 patients who underwent a cholecystectomy. In unadjusted analyses, black children were significantly less likely than white children to fill an opioid prescription postoperatively (74.9% versus 85.7%, P < 0.001). After adjustment for patient-level clinical and demographic characteristics, we found that black children treated at non-children's hospitals in large-/medium-sized urban counties were significantly less likely to fill an opioid prescription after cholecystectomy when compared with white children treated at urban children's hospitals or to white children treated in non-children's hospitals in either large/medium urban counties or other counties. However, this association was partly explained by a longer average length of stay among black children.

CONCLUSIONS

Black children who undergo cholecystectomy at urban non-children's hospitals are less likely to fill a postoperative opioid prescription than white children who undergo cholecystectomy at those same hospitals or other hospitals. Further research is needed to identify whether this disparity is due to a lower rate of opioid prescribing or a lower rate of prescription filling.

Assessment and Treatment Recommendations for Pediatric Pain: The Influence of Patient Race, Patient Gender, and Provider Pain-Related Attitudes

Previous studies have documented that racial minorities and women receive poorer pain care than their demographic counterparts. Providers contribute to these disparities when their pain-related decision-making systematically varies across patient groups. Less is known about racial and gender disparities in children with pain or the extent to which providers contribute to these disparities. In a sample of 129 medical students (henceforth referred to as "providers"), Virtual Human methodology and a pain-related version of the Implicit Association Test (IAT) were used to examine the effects of patient race/gender on providers' pain assessment/treatment decisions for pediatric chronic abdominal pain, as well as the moderating role of provider implicit pain-related race/gender attitudes. Findings indicated that providers rated Black patients as more distressed (mean difference [MD] = 2.33, P < .01, standard error [SE] = .71, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .92, 3.73) and as experiencing more pain-related interference (MD = 3.14, P < .01, SE = .76, 95% CI = 1.63, 4.64) compared to White patients. Providers were more likely to recommend opioids for Black patients than White patients (MD = 2.41, P < .01, SE = .58, 95% CI = 1.05, 3.76). Female patients were perceived to be more distressed by their pain (MD = 2.14, P < .01, SE = .79, 95% CI = .58, 3.70) than male patients, however there were no gender differences in treatment recommendations. IAT results indicated that providers held implicit attitudes that Black Americans (M = .19, standard deviation [SD] = .29) and males (M = .38, SD = .29) were more pain-tolerant than their demographic counterparts; however, these implicit attitudes did not significantly moderate their pain assessment/treatment decisions. Future studies are needed to elucidate specific paths through which the pain experience and care of children differ across racial and gender groups. PERSPECTIVE: Providers' pain assessment (ie, pain distress/pain interference) and treatment (ie, opioids) of pediatric pain differs across patient race and to a lesser extent, patient gender. This study represents a critical step in research on pain-related disparities in pediatric pain.