Julie L Cunningham, Julia R Craner, Michele M Evans, W Michael Hooten
Abstract
In the context of widespread opioid use, increased emphasis has been placed on the potentially deleterious effects of concurrent benzodiazepine (BZD) and opioid use. Although use of opioids in chronic pain has been a major focus, BZD use is equally concerning. Thus, the primary aim of this study was to determine the associations between BZD and opioid use in adults with chronic pain upon admission to an outpatient interdisciplinary pain rehabilitation (IPR) program.
The study cohort involved 847 consecutive patients admitted to a 3-week outpatient IPR program from January 2013 through December 2014. Study variables included baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and the pain severity subscale of the Multidimensional Pain Inventory.
Upon admission, 248 (29%) patients were taking BZDs. Patients using BZDs were significantly more likely to use opioids and to be female. Additionally, patients using BZDs had significantly greater depression, pain catastrophizing, and pain severity scores. In univariable logistic regression analysis, opioid use, female sex, and greater scores of depression, pain catastrophizing, and pain severity were significantly associated with BZD use. In multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, pain duration, opioid use, depression, pain catastrophizing, and pain severity, only female sex and greater depression scores were significantly associated with BZD use.
Among patients participating in an outpatient IPR program, female sex and greater depression scores were associated with BZD use. Results identify a high prevalence of BZD use in patients with chronic pain and reinforce the need to weigh the risks versus benefits when prescribing in this patient population.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
3
6%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
3
6%
Other
7
13%
Unknown
9
17%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 4. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 February 2017.
All research outputs
#8,736,757
of 26,591,059 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Pain Research
#890
of 2,064 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#147,202
of 431,724 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Pain Research
#25
of 56 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 26,591,059 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 66th percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,064 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 14.9. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 56% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 431,724 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 65% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 56 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 51% of its contemporaries.
