P68. National trends in opioid prescribing practices for patients presenting with isolated low back pain in the outpatient setting

Low back pain is one of the most common and debilitating reasons for outpatient visits in the United States. Opioids are widely used for the management of low back pain. However, opioid-related overdose deaths and admissions quadrupled between the years 1999 and 2010 and the associated economic burden is estimated to be around $78.5 billion USD annually. A better understanding of contemporary prescribing practices is warranted.

Source: The Spine Journal - August 23, 2019 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Micheal Raad, Jina Pakpoor, Andrew B. Harris, Joseph K. Canner, Majd Marrache, Varun Puvanesarajah, Richard L. Skolasky, Hamid Hassanzadeh, Khaled M. Kebaish, Amit Jain Source Type: research