Effect of emergency department opioid prescribing on health outcomes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The relation between emergency department opioid prescribing and subsequent harm is complex and poorly studied. We sought to quantify adverse outcomes, incremental risk, and rates of prolonged opioid use among emergency department patients receiving an opioid prescription and propensity-matched controls.

Methods

We used administrative data to sample all Alberta emergency department visits over 10 years, excluding patients with cancer, palliative care, or concurrent opioid use. Treated patients filled an opioid prescription within 72 hours after their index visit; untreated patients did not. We generated propensity scores to identify matched controls among untreated patients. The 1-year primary composite outcome included opioid-related emergency visits (e.g., overd

SUBMITTER: Hayward J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11810442 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature