Background: Pediatric cancer survivors often have pain, which may be managed with opioids. We examined the prevalence of opioid prescriptions, potential misuse, and substance use disorders (SUDs) among pediatric cancer survivors during the first year posttherapy.

Methods: Using MarketScan Commercial Database, we identified 8969 survivors (aged 21 years or younger at diagnosis) who completed cancer therapy in 2009-2018 and remained continuously enrolled for at least 1 year posttherapy and 44 845 age-, sex-, and region-matched enrollees without cancer as a comparison group. Outcomes included opioid prescriptions, any indicator of potential prescription opioid misuse, and SUDs within 1 year posttherapy. Outcomes were compared between survivors and noncancer peers in bivariate and adjusted analyses, stratified by off-therapy age (children: 0-11 years; adolescents: 12-17 years; young adults: 18-28 years). All statistical tests were 2-sided.

Results: A higher proportion of survivors than noncancer peers filled opioid prescriptions (children: 12.7% vs 2.0%; adolescents: 22.9% vs 7.7%; young adults: 26.0% vs 11.9%). In models adjusting for sociodemographic factors and health status, survivors remained 74.4%-404.8% more likely than noncancer peer to fill opioid prescriptions (P < .001). The prevalence of potential misuse or SUDs was low, with 1.4% of child, 4.7% of adolescent, and 9.4% of young adult survivors fulfilling at least 1 criterion; however, it was higher than noncancer peers (0.1%, 1.4%, and 4.3%, respectively). In adjusted models, the likelihood of potential misuse among survivors remained at least 2 times higher than that among noncancer peers (P  < .001), and the difference in SUDs became nonstatistically significant.

Conclusion: Statistically significantly higher rates of opioid prescriptions and potential misuse were found among pediatric cancer survivors within 1 year posttherapy as compared with peers without cancer.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9194632PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac049DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

opioid prescriptions
16
pediatric cancer
12
cancer survivors
12
potential misuse
8
misuse substance
8
survivors noncancer
8
noncancer peers
8
young adults
8
survivors
7
opioid
6

Similar Publications

Objective: Despite an abundance of public discourse about the opioid crisis in the media, there is little research characterizing opioid-related content on TikTok, a popular video-based social media platform. This study sought to examine how opioids are portrayed on TikTok.

Methods: This study used mixed-methods to analyze top opioid-related posts marked with the hashtag "#opioids" collected in May 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

While attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is common among people with addiction, the risks and benefits of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication in pregnant people with opioid use disorder are poorly understood. Here, using US multistate administrative data, we examined 3,247 pregnant people initiating opioid use disorder treatment, of whom 5% received psychostimulants. Compared to peers not receiving psychostimulants, the psychostimulant cohort had greater buprenorphine (adjusted relative risk 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Despite efforts to minimize opioid prescribing, outpatient ventral hernia repair (VHR) with mesh remains notoriously painful, often requiring postoperative opioid analgesia. Here, we aim to characterize patterns of opioid prescribing for the heterogenous group of patients and procedures that comprise mesh-based, outpatient VHR.

Methods: The Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative registry was queried for patients undergoing VHR with mesh who were discharged the same or next day between January 2019 to October 2023.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

"I still can feel the sickness": Withdrawal experiences of people on methadone maintenance treatment.

J Subst Use Addict Treat

December 2024

Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research, School of Global Public Health, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.

Introduction: Opioid withdrawal is a regular occurrence for many people who use illicit opioids (PWUIO) involving acute physical and psychological pain. Yet, there is very little data on the withdrawal experience of people in methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) and almost none from the patients' experience. Learning more about patients' withdrawal experiences can help to inform policies and practices that are better suited to address withdrawal and may improve patient satisfaction as well as uptake and retention.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Trends in naloxone co-prescriptions.

Drug Alcohol Depend

December 2024

Stanford University School of Medicine, Office of PA Education, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, United States; Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Primary Care and Population Health, 300 Pasteur Drive, Stanford, CA, United States; Kaiser Permanente Mountain View Medical Offices, Department of Internal Medicine, 555 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA, United States. Electronic address:

Background: The opioid epidemic remains a significant public health crisis in the United States. Naloxone has been identified as a critical component in combating this crisis. However, co-prescription rates among patients receiving opioids remain suboptimal, especially among certain high-risk populations.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!