title: Prescription opioid duration of action and the risk of unintentional overdose among patients receiving opioid therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The unprecedented increase in unintentional overdose events that has occurred in tandem with escalating sales of prescription opioids over the past 2 decades has raised concerns about whether the therapeutic use of opioids has contributed to increases in overdose injury. Few controlled studies have examined the extent to which ecologic measures of increases in opioid prescribing and overdose injuries reflect risk among patients prescribed opioids, let alone whether some opioid regimens are safer than others.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether the risk of unintentional overdose injury is associated with the duration of opioid action (ie, long-acting vs short-acting formulations).
  
  
  METHODS
  A propensity score-adjusted cohort study was conducted using population-based health care utilization data from the Veterans Administration Healthcare System. The patients were veterans with chronic painful conditions who began therapy with opioid analgesics between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2009.
  
  
  METHODS
  Unintentional overdoses that are explicitly coded using International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision codes as drug or medication poisonings of accidental intent (E850.x-860.x) or undetermined intent (E980.x or drug poisoning [960.x-980.x] without an accompanying external cause of injury code).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 319 unintentional overdose events were observed. Patients initiating therapy with long-acting opioids were more than twice as likely to overdose compared with persons initiating therapy with short-acting opioids. After adjustment for age, sex, opioid dose, and other clinical characteristics, patients receiving long-acting opioids had a significantly higher rate of overdose injury than did those receiving short-acting opioids (hazard ratio [HR], 2.33; 95% CI, 1.26-4.32). The risk associated with long-acting agents was particularly marked during the first 2 weeks after initiation of treatment (HR, 5.25; 1.88-14.72).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To our knowledge, the findings of the present study provide the first evidence that the risk of unintentional overdose injury is related to the prescribed opioid's duration of action. If replicated in other cohorts, our findings suggest that clinicians weighing the benefits and risks of initiating different opioid regimens should consider not only the daily dose prescribed but also the duration of opioid action, favoring short-acting agents whenever possible, especially during the first 2 weeks of therapy.
authors: Department of Health Sciences and Epidemiology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Miller
authors: Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Catherine W
authors: CW
authors: Barber
authors: Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston4Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Leatherman
authors: Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston5Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Fonda
authors: Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston5Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: John A
authors: JA
authors: Hermos
authors: Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston6Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Kelly
authors: K
authors: Cho
authors: Massachusetts Veterans Epidemiology Research and Information Center, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, Boston4Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: David R
authors: DR
authors: Gagnon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000506:poisoning; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D062787:Drug Overdose / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D057216:Propensity Score; D012306:Risk; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D055553:Prescription Drugs