title: Prescription Opioid Use and Misuse Among Older Adult Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Department Patients.
abstract: Because of the multitude of financial, health, and social problems associated with prescription opioid misuse, effective methods of identifying older adults who are misusing these medications are needed. We conducted a pilot investigation to determine the prevalence of previous and current prescription opioid use among older adults visiting the Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Department and their need for opioid misuse interventions. Among 88 randomly selected older adults (≥ 65 years of age) presenting to the ED with sub-critical illness or injury, 19% (95% CI: 11-27%) were current opioid users and 6% (95% CI: 4-8%) would require an intervention for prescription opioid misuse. We identified problems of improper acquisition, diversion, provider refusal to prescribe opioids, hoarding, and inappropriate use of opioids among this population. Emergency medicine clinicians should query their older adult patients about prescription opioid misuse and associated problematic behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Medical Student, The Department of Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.
authors.forename: Adam W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, The Department of Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI. Current affiliation: The Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA.
authors.forename: Kavita M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Babu
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, The Department of Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.
authors.forename: Roland C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Merchant
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, The Department of Emergency Medicine, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.
authors.forename: Francesca L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Beaudoin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D063487:Prescription Drug Misuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012237:Rhode Island; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid
keywords: emergency department; older adults; prescription drug misuse; prescription opioids; screening; substance abuse