Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
Use of Prescription Opioids Among US Adolescents
Pediatrics; 2017 Apr; McCabe, West, et al
Prescription opioid exposure is common among US adolescents; however, medical and nonmedical use has declined recently and remained highly correlated over the past 4 decades, a recent study found. The study examined national trends in the medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids among high school seniors between 1976 and 2015. 40 cohorts of nationally representative samples were used to examine self-reported medical and nonmedical use. Researchers found:
- Lifetime prevalence of medical use of prescription opioids peaked in both 1989 and 2002 and remained stable until a recent decline from 2013 through 2015.
- Lifetime nonmedical use of prescription opioids was less prevalent and highly correlated with medical use and prescription opioids over the 40-year study period.
- Long-term trends indicated that one-fourth of high school seniors self-reported medical or nonmedical use of prescription opioids.
McCabe SE, West BT, Veliz P, McCabe VV, Stoddard SA, Boyd CJ. Trends in medical and nonmedical use of prescription opioids among US adolescents: 1976-2015. Pediatrics. 2017;139(4) e20162387. doi:10.1542/peds.2016-2387.
Opioid abuse has become a national crisis. The number of deaths due to opioid overdose now exceeds the number of deaths from motor vehicle accidents in many US states. It is astonishing that a quarter of all high-school seniors reported use of prescription opioids. While the desire to decrease pain is important, so is the desire to decrease the adverse consequences of abuse of opioid pain medications. When it comes to prescribing opioids to teenagers, we should think carefully before prescribing and perhaps explain that acute pain resolves with time and is often improved by physical measures such as ice, heat, and pressure. —Neil Skolnik, MD