Opioid, Sedative Co-prescribing Still Common

Psychiatry Advisor:

Although rates of opioid prescribing reached a plateau from 2006–2010, the co-prescribing of opioids and sedative hypnotics did not decrease over a nine-year period despite guidelines that advise against co-prescribing of these medications.

In this study published in the journal Pharmacoepidemiology & Drug Safety, Marc LaRochelle, MD, from the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues reviewed data on 15,344 office visits for acute pain and 19,958 visits for chronic pain from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey/National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2001–2010 to determine trends in opioid prescribing and co-prescribing of sedative hypnotics.

The primary outcome was a new prescription, or continuation of an opioid medication during the visit; the secondary outcome was prescribing of sedative hypnotics.

Read the full article here.