Opioid Coding Bench Talk

Using claims data to analyze persistent opioid use and misuse following dental opioid prescriptions

Register Now!  (light refreshments will be provided)

Melody Dehghan, Research Data Analyst, Surgery
Alan Schroeder, Clinical Professor, Pediatrics

The PHS Opioid Coding Bench is a group pf PHS data users interested in sharing resources, experiences, and knowledge around studying opioid use and abuse with claims data. In our upcoming meeting, Alan Schroeder and Melody Dehghan will present  their work on dental opioid prescriptions using claims data published in JAMA Internal Medicine (Dec 2018).

Question: Are opioid prescriptions from dental clinicians that are written for pain management of third molar extractions from adolescents and young adults associated with subsequent opioid use and abuse?

Findings: In this cohort analysis of claims data, index opioid prescriptions in opioid-naive adolescents and young adults compared with age- and sex-matched controls were associated with a statistically significant 6.8% absolute risk increase in persistent opioid use and a 5.4% increase in the subsequent diagnosis of opioid abuse.

Meaning: The findings suggest that dental opioid prescriptions, which may be driven by third molar extractions in this age group, may be associated with subsequent opioid use and opioid abuse.