Assessment of Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing of Opioid Analgesics Requiring Prior Opioid Tolerance.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Opioid-tolerant only (OTO) medications, such as transmucosal immediate-release fentanyl products and certain extended-release opioid analgesics, require prior opioid tolerance for safe use, as patients without tolerance may be at increased risk of overdose. Studies using insurance claims have found that many patients initiating these medications do not appear to be opioid tolerant.

Objectives

To measure prevalence of opioid tolerance in patients initiating OTO medications and to determine whether linked electronic health record (EHR) data contribute evidence of opioid tolerance not found in insurance claims data.

Design, setting, and participants

This retrospective cohort study used a national database of deidentified longitudinal health information, includ

SUBMITTER: Jeffery MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7160686 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature