Reasons for Preoperative Opioid Use Are Associated with Persistent Use following Surgery Among Patients Undergoing Total Knee and Hip Arthroplasty.

Objective: Most studies on preoperative opioid use only describe whether or not patients use opioids without characterizing reasons for use. Knowing why patients use opioids can help inform perioperative opioid management. The objective of this study was to explore pain specific reasons for preoperative opioid use prior to total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA) and their association with persistent use.

Treatment provider perceptions of take-home methadone regulation before and during COVID-19.

Background: The loosening of U.S. methadone regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic expanded calls for methadone reform.

Impact of Prescribing on New Persistent Opioid Use After Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Background: New persistent opioid use occurs in 3% to 14% of patients after elective surgery, but is poorly described after cardiothoracic surgery. We examined the association of prescription size with new persistent opioid use after cardiothoracic surgery.

Methods: Opioid-naive Medicare patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery between 2009 and 2015 were identified.

Opioid Prescribing After Opioid-related Inpatient Hospitalizations by Diagnosis: A Cohort Study.

Background: Any opioid-related hospitalization is an indicator of opioid-related harm and should ideally trigger carefully monitored decreases in opioid prescribing after inpatient stays in many, if not most, cases. However, past studies on opioid prescribing after hospitalizations have largely been limited to overdose related visits. It is unclear whether prescribing is different for other opioid-related indications such as opioid dependence and abuse and how that may compare with hospitalizations for overdose.

Postoperative opioid prescribing is not my job: A qualitative analysis of care transitions.

Background: Persistent opioid use is common after surgical procedures, and postoperative opioid prescribing often transitions from surgeons to primary care physicians in the months after surgery. It is unknown how surgeons currently transition these patients or the preferred approach to successful coordination of care. This qualitative study aimed to describe transitions of care for postoperative opioid prescribing and identify barriers and facilitators of ideal transitions for potential intervention targets.

Access to Primary Care Clinics for Patients With Chronic Pain Receiving Opioids.

Importance: Opioid-prescribing policies and guidelines aimed at reducing inappropriate opioid prescribing may lead physicians to stop prescribing opioids. Patients may thus encounter difficulties finding primary care practitioners willing to care for them if they take opioids.

Objectives: To assess practitioner willingness to accept and continue prescribing opioids to new patients with pain and whether this willingness differs across payer types.

Buprenorphine Treatment Divide by Race/Ethnicity and Payment.

This study reports the seeming disparity in access to buprenorphine prescriptions among racial/ethnic minorities and individuals with lower income.

Factors Associated With New Persistent Opioid Usage After Lung Resection.

Background: Opioid dependence, misuse, and abuse in the United States continue to rise. Prior studies indicate an important risk factor for persistent opioid use includes elective surgical procedures, though the probability following thoracic procedures remains unknown. We analyzed the incidence and factors associated with new persistent opioid use after lung resection.

Transitions of Care for Postoperative Opioid Prescribing in Previously Opioid-Naïve Patients in the USA: a Retrospective Review.

Background: New persistent opioid use is a common postoperative complication, with 6% of previously opioid-naïve patients continuing to fill opioid prescriptions 3-6 months after surgery. Despite these risks, it is unknown which specialties prescribe opioids to these vulnerable patients.

Objective: To identify specialties prescribing opioids to surgical patients who develop new persistent opioid use.

Policy Pathways to Address Provider Workforce Barriers to Buprenorphine Treatment.

Unlabelled: At least 2.3 million people in the U.S.

Culturally Targeted Strategies for Diabetes Prevention in Minority Population.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to (a) assess the effectiveness of culturally tailored diabetes prevention interventions in minority populations and (b) develop a novel framework to characterize 4 key domains of culturally tailored interventions. Prevention strategies specifically tailored to the culture of ethnic minority patients may help reduce the incidence of diabetes. Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL for English-language, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-experimental (QE) trials testing culturally tailored interventions to prevent diabetes in minority populations.

Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Prevalence of Hypertension and Diabetes in a South Asian Population.

South Asians have a high burden of cardiovascular disease compared to other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Little has been done to evaluate how neighborhood environments may influence cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension and type 2 diabetes in this immigrant population. We evaluated the association of perceived neighborhood social cohesion with hypertension and type 2 diabetes among 906 South Asian adults who participated in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America Study.