Doctors prescribe opioids at high rates to those at increased overdose risk, but trends improving, study finds

The number of first-time prescriptions for opioid drugs has not risen since about 2010, according to UCLA researchers. However, patients taking a class of drug known to increase the risk for overdoses were likelier to receive a first-time opioid prescription — a combination that could be linked to the current surge in opioid-related deaths.People with chronic pain are often prescribed a class of medications called “benzodiazepines” to treat anxiety, panic attacks and other mental conditions that can be brought on by the stress of coping with their pain. But these people also are likelier to receive new opioid prescriptions for their pain than people who don’t use benzodiazepines. Used in combination, th ey are known to sharply increase the risk of overdose, the researchers say.The  study  was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.Previous studies have shown that people who become addicted to opioids after being co-prescribed benzodiazepines and the pain reliever have much higher overdose rates, said  Dr. Joseph Ladapo, associate professor of medicine in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the  David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study’s lead author. This is because, in part, they often obtain opioids through other means and continue using them after the initial prescription runs out.“Rates of accidental overdose are high and rising, and we are struggling as a country to address the problem,” he said. “A...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news