Prescription opioid dispensing rates in the 12-months post-discharge after acute spinal cord injury: An observational study.

Objectives: To determine rates of opioid and concomitant antidepressant, anticonvulsant and benzodiazepine dispensing in the post-discharge period, after acute spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Single-center prospective cohort study with 12-month linked pharmaceutical data.

Setting: Community pharmaceutical dispensing.

Participants: Patients ≥18 who were diagnosed with a SCI between March 2017 and March 2018.

Outcome measures: Rates of dispensing of opioid and concomitant antidepressant, anticonvulsant and benzodiazepine medications in the 12-month post-discharge from a specialist inpatient Spinal Injuries Unit.

Results: Sixty-eight participants volunteered for the study. Of the medications dispensed in the 12-months after discharge, 16% were opioids, which were supplied to 56% of participants. Forty-six percent of participants had concurrent dispensing of at least one other medication class of interest (antidepressants, anticonvulsants, or benzodiazepines). Participants with opioids prescribed at discharge were 6.5 times more likely to have been dispensed opioids in the 12-months following discharge compared to those who did not have opioids listed at discharge (OR = 6.5, 95% CI = 2.2, 19.0, P < .001).

Conclusions: Longer-term opioid prescribing plus concomitant analgesia and sleep medications in the post-acute period after SCI were common. Chronic opioid use and the polypharmacy observed is concerning, given the potential for dependence, tolerance and increased drug interactions and associated adverse effects. Both issues point to the need for clear discharge instructions for primary care prescribers and regular monitoring to manage pharmacotherapy therapeutic benefits and risks alongside non-medication therapies.