Category: Federal Forum Posters
Purpose: The use of opioids for acute and chronic pain management remains a cornerstone of both inpatient and outpatient medical practice. However, recently dependence on opioids has become even more of an epidemic across America as more lives are claimed by their misuse. The purpose of this study will be to determine the prevalence of chronic opioid dependence in previously opioid naïve patients who received opioids for analgesia in the intensive care unit.
Methods: This study will be submitted to the Institutional Review Board for approval. A retrospective chart review will be conducted to include medical intensive care unit patients over a year who were treated with a continuous opioid infusion for 24 consecutive hours. Patients will be screened to determine opioid naïve status prior to admission and opioid exposure in the intensive care unit. Baseline demographics, co-morbidities and concurrent medications will be obtained from the electronic medical record. Medications given for analgesia and sedation in the intensive care unit will be recorded. Prescription fill data from the health record will then be examined at 3, 6 and 12 months post discharge to determine if patients are receiving chronic opioid treatment. Sensitivity analysis will be run looking at the effect of the amount of opioid received during admission, concomitant sedative use, and other characteristics to determine risk of chronic opioid dependence. Patient data will be collected through the hospital’s Computerized Patient Record System. Background data and overall opioid dependence will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. Prevalence rates for patients in this study will be compared to general population rates to determine if intensive care unit admission is a risk factor for long term use.
Results: Not applicable
Conclusion: Not applicable
Mohammad Qasim Adil
– Student, University of Texas at Austin, Houston, TX109 Views