Article Associations of Opioid Prescriptions with Death
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Article Associations of Opioid Prescriptions with Death and Hospitalization across the Spectrum of Estimated GFR Tessa K. Novick,1 Aditya Surapaneni,2 Jung-Im Shin,2,3 G. Caleb Alexander,3 Lesley A. Inker,4 Eric A. Wright,5 Alex R. Chang ,6 and Morgan E. Grams1,2,3 Abstract Background and objectives Most opioids undergo kidney excretion. The goal of this study was to evaluate 1Division of opioid-associated risks of death and hospitalization across the range of eGFR. Nephrology, Department of Internal Design, setting, participants, & measurements The study population included adult primary care patients in Medicine, and 2Welch Geisinger Health (Danville, PA) between 2008 and 2017. People receiving their first opioid prescription were Center for Prevention, propensity matched to people receiving NSAIDS (and, in sensitivity analysis, gabapentinoids) and the risk of Epidemiology and Clinical Research, death and hospitalization were compared, classifying opioid medication exposure as time-varying daily oral Johns Hopkins morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) across time-varying eGFR. University, Baltimore, Maryland; 3 Results The propensity-matched cohort included 46,246 patients prescribed either opioids or NSAIDs between Department of Epidemiology, Johns 2008 and 2017 (mean [SD] age, 54 [16] years; 56% female; 3% of black race). Prescriptions for 1–59 and $60 MMEs – Hopkins University were associated with higher risk of death (HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.41 to 2.05 for 1 59 MMEs; HR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.82 to Bloomberg School of 2.79 for $60 MMEs) and hospitalization (HR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.30 to 1.46 for 1–59 MMEs; HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.56 to 1.81 Public Health, $ 2 Baltimore, Maryland; for 60 MMEs) compared with NSAID prescriptions, when evaluated at eGFR 80 ml/min per 1.73 m .Therelative 4 risk of death associated with $60 MMEs was higher at lower GFR (e.g.,eGFR,40ml/minper1.73m2; HR, 3.94; Division of Nephrology, 95% CI, 2.70 to 5.75; P for interaction, 0.01). When gabapentinoids were used as the comparison medication, only Department of $60 MMEs were significantly associated with higher risk of death (HR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.71 to 4.34), although both Medicine, Tufts 1–59 and $60 MMEs were associated with risk of hospitalization (HR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.43 for 1–59 MMEs; Medical Center, HR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.28 to 1.86 for $60 MMEs). Boston, Massachusetts; and 5Center for Pharmacy Conclusions The receipt of prescription opioids was associated with a higher risk of death and hospitalization Innovation and compared with other pain medications, particularly with higher doses and at lower eGFR. Outcomes, 6Geisinger CJASN 14: 1581–1589, 2019. doi: https://doi.org/10.2215/CJN.00440119 Health, Danville, Pennsylvania; Correspondence: Introduction kidney disease limits therapeutic options for pain Dr. Morgan E. Grams, Use of opioid analgesics in the United States has control, in large part due to the relative contraindi- Division of reached historic levels, with a fourfold increase in cation to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs Nephrology, opioid prescribing between 1999 and 2010 (1–3). More (NSAIDs) (14). Opioids are an alternative, and over Department of Internal Medicine, Johns than 2.1 million Americans are estimated to have an 40% of individuals with advanced CKD have received Hopkins University, opioid use disorder (4), and 12% of adults with opioid prescriptions (13). The vast majority of opioids 1830 E. Monument prescription opioids report misuse, defined as use undergo some degree of kidney excretion (15). Con- Street, 4th Floor, Suite without a prescription or a pattern of use other than centrations of both parent opioids and their metabo- 416, Baltimore, MD 21287. Email: what was directed by a physician (2). There has also lites can be altered in CKD, which can necessitate dose [email protected] been a corresponding surge in overdose deaths. In adjustment, change drug efficacy, and possibly in- 2017, more than 49,000 Americans died from opioid crease risk for toxicity (15–17). Among people on overdose, the highest year on record, and over dialysis, past studies have shown higher risk of death, 19,000 of these deaths involved prescription opioids dialysis discontinuation, hospitalizations, altered (5). In the general population, prescription opioid mental status, falls, and fractures with opioid pre- use has been associated with increased risk of death scriptions (18,19). However, little is known about the and hospitalizations (6,7). risks associated with opioid use in patients with CKD An estimated 58% of individuals with CKD expe- not on dialysis (8,20). rience chronic pain, a prevalence two to three times The objective of this study was to quantify the that of the general population (8–13). Neuropathy, association between prescription opioids and death peripheral vascular disease, and pain syndromes and hospitalization across patients with varying unique to kidney disease such as osteodystrophy levels of eGFR in a large, integrated healthcare delivery and calciphylaxis are common (9,12). However, system. We hypothesized that higher prescribed oral www.cjasn.org Vol 14 November, 2019 Copyright © 2019 by the American Society of Nephrology 1581 1582 CJASN morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) would be associ- Measurement of Opioid Prescription ated with increased risk of adverse outcomes. Opioid prescription was assessed from the electronic medical record. For time-varying analyses, periods of medication exposure began the day of prescription, Materials and Methods through the medication discontinuation date, plus a lag Study Population period of 15 days. For each prescription, we converted We included patients receiving primary care from the daily dose into standardized MMEs to account for Geisinger Health. Geisinger serves 44 counties in central differences in potency among opioid agents (24). Every and northeastern Pennsylvania (21). All inpatient and out- time an opioid prescription was added, discontinued, patient visits are compiled in an electronic record that or changed, the MME exposure was recalculated. If more includes laboratory data, prescription records, billing than one opioid was prescribed, the MMEs for each codes, and vital signs. The out-migration rate is approx- opioid were added together. Opioid exposure was then imately 1% per year (22). We included individuals who had categorized as 1–59 or $60 MMEs to be consistent with new opioid or NSAID prescriptions on or after January 1, past studies among persons with kidney disease (19). 2008. We excluded persons with opioid prescriptions Opioid agents included: morphine, hydromorphone, , before January 1, 2008, aged 21 years, no outpatient codeine, dihydrocodeine, oxymorphone, hydrocodone, serum creatinine measurements within 1 year before nalbuphine, meperidine, oxycodone, fentanyl, tramadol, opioid prescription, history of malignancy, ESKD, initial tapentadol, and pentazocine. Prescriptions for opioid/ prescription for an opioid used to treat addiction NSAID combination agents were not included. Prescrip- (buprenorphine, methadone, levacetylmethadol, lofexidine, tions for buprenorphine and methadone were included levomethadone, and diamorphine), and any prescription for only during follow-up. propoxyphene, resulting in a study population of 70,420 individuals (Figure 1). Propoxyphene was excluded due to Measurement of Comparator Prescription safety concerns and subsequent removal from the US market Prescriptions and reported use of NSAIDs and gabapen- in 2010 (23). tinoids (gabapentin, pregabalin) were abstracted from This study was reviewed and approved by the Johns the medical record. Periods of medication exposure were Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health defined in a similar manner to those of opioids with a lag and Geisinger Medical Center Institutional Review Board. period of 15 days. Eligible Geisinger Population People with opioid prescription on/after 01/01/08: N = 227,037 People with NSAID prescription on/after 01/01/08: N = 212,573 Exclusions – Opioids Exclusions – NSAIDs Past opioid prescription: N = 136,923 Past opioid prescription: N = 111,192 <21 years: N = 6247 <21 years: N = 10,996 No available Cr: N = 41,022 No available Cr: N = 48,221 Cancer: N = 9141 Cancer: N = 4030 ESKD: N = 470 ESKD: N = 20 Ever used propoxyphene: N = 339 Ever used propoxyphene: N = 589 Total Study Population N = 70,420 People with Opioid People with NSAID Prescriptions Prescriptions N = 32,895 (47%) N = 37,525 (53%) After propensity-matching People with Opioid People with NSAID Prescriptions Prescriptions N = 23,123 (50%) N = 23,123 (50%) Figure 1. | Study population. Cr, creatinine; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. CJASN 14: 1581–1589, November, 2019 Opioids and Adverse Outcomes in CKD, Novick et al. 1583 Measurement of eGFR disease and, in turn, hospitalization and death. Matching Baseline serum creatinine was determined using the was performed without replacement using caliper sizes of most proximal antecedent outpatient value to prescription 0.001. Propensity scores were calculated once at the time of start date and converted to eGFR using the CKD Epide- medication initiation. miology Collaboration equation (25). All creatinine values were measured using isotope-dilution mass spectrometry Statistical Analyses fi traceable assays according to manufacturer speci cations We compared baseline characteristics across patients (21). In the time-varying analyses, eGFR was updated using standardized mean differences. We used Cox pro- every time an outpatient serum