Primary care providers’ judgments of opioid analgesic misuse in a community-based cohort of HIV-infected indigent adults

Self-medication of pain and discomfort with alcohol and other substances by people with HIV infection and substance use disorder: preliminary findings from a secondary analysis

There is a limited literature regarding factors associated with self-medication of pain and discomfort using alcohol, non-prescription substances or overuse of prescription medications among people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This cross-sectional analysis used data from the Boston ARCH Cohort among participants with HIV infection and a history of alcohol or other substance use. Among 248 participants, 37% were female, 50% Black, 25% Latinx; 36% reported fair to poor health and 89% had CD4 cell counts >200/mm3. Half reported self-medication and of those, 8.8% reported doing so only with alcohol, 48.8% only with other substances and 42.4% with both alcohol and other substances. Those reporting self-medication were significantly (p < .05) younger (mean 47 vs 50 years), less employed (11% vs 21%), and less likely to have HIV viral suppression (60% vs. 80%). Depression, anxiety, and HIV symptoms were associated with significantly greater odds of self-medicating, as were substance dependence, recent injection substance use, heavy alcohol use, cocaine use, opioid use, sedative use, and cannabis use. Self-medication, highly prevalent and associated with worse mental health symptoms, greater substance use, and lesser HIV disease control, should be explored by HIV clinicians caring for people who use substances.

Contingency management to promote smoking cessation in people experiencing homelessness: Leveraging the electronic health record in a pilot, pragmatic randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Cigarette smoking is disproportionately high among people experiencing homelessness (PEH). Contingency management (CM) is a strategy that has shown considerable efficacy for smoking cessation and has been used in short-term studies of smoking abstinence in PEH. We describe a pilot, pragmatic randomized controlled trial protocol, which leverages an electronic health record (EHR) infrastructure to assess the feasibility and acceptability of an extended CM intervention to improve long-term abstinence in PEH.

METHODS

We will conduct the study at three safety-net clinics in San Francisco among 90 adults experiencing homelessness who smoke cigarettes currently and have a desire to quit. We will encourage all participants to receive smoking cessation services that include behavioral counseling and pharmacotherapy through their clinics. We will randomly assign participants to an extended CM intervention group with escalating incentives contingent on abstinence or to a control group with fixed incentives for attending study visits. We will use the EHR to recruit participants, track receipt of counseling and pharmacotherapy during clinical care, and communicate with providers on participants' progress. CM participants will get escalating incentives for demonstration of carbon monoxide-verified abstinence over 6 months, with a total possible earnings of $475. Control participants will receive a fixed incentive of $5 for attending study visits, totaling $125. We will conduct the carbon-monoxide verified abstinence assessments-which will determine CM incentive amounts-daily during week 1, bi-weekly through week 4, weekly through week 13, and monthly through week 24. Measures of feasibility and acceptability, both quantitative and qualitative, will include assessments of screening and recruitment, adherence to study visits, engagement in smoking cessation clinical care, retention, and participant satisfaction. One of the primary clinical outcomes will be biochemically verified 7-day point prevalence abstinence at 6 months. We will measure secondary outcomes, which will include 7-day point prevalence abstinence at 2 weeks, 3 and 12 months.

DISCUSSION

This trial will allow us to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a CM cessation intervention among PEH. The protocol's clinical setting and use of EHRs gives it significant potential for scalability. If found to be feasible, acceptable, and subsequently efficacious in a larger trial, the intervention could reduce tobacco-related health disparities by increasing long-term smoking abstinence among this vulnerable population.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04982952. Registered on July 29, 2021.

Characterization of Bodily Pain and Use of Both Prescription and Non-Prescription Opioids in Tenants of Precarious Housing

opioid use, which includes both prescribed and non-prescribed drugs, is relatively common amongst marginalized populations. Past research has shown that among those who use non-prescribed or diverted opioids recreationally, many were first exposed to the drug as prescribed pain medication. Objective: to better understand the relationship between pain and opioid use in tenants of precarious housing. Methods: in the present study, 440 individuals from a cohort living in homeless or precariously housed conditions in a neighborhood with high rates of poverty and drug use were interviewed for their bodily pain and opioid use. We examined the relationship between bodily pain levels, assessed using the Maudsley Addiction Profile questionnaire, and prescribed, non-prescribed and combined self-reported opioid use in the prior 28 days assessed using the Timeline Followback and Doctor-Prescribed Medication Timeline Followback questionnaires. Results: Analysis of the results indicated that sex (female), age (younger) and early exposure to opioids (≤ age 18) predicted current opioid use, but there was no association between current bodily pain levels and opioid use. Conclusions: these unexpected findings indicate the complex nature of the relationship between pain and opioid use in this population.

Prevalence and correlates of prescription drug diversion and misuse among people living with HIV in the eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

BACKGROUND

Prescription drug diversion, and misuse has increased over the past decade and is notably in high-income-countries and significantly contributes to the opioid epidemic. People living with HIV (PLWH) are particularly vulnerable to prescription drug diversion, and misuse as most experience chronic pain, mental health problems and HIV-related illnesses. The researchers investigated the prevalence and correlates of prescription drug diversion, and misuse among PLWH in the eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 392 PLWH, conveniently recruited from the public healthcare facilities located in rural, semi-urban and urban areas of the eThekwini district. Participants answered questions about their background, prescription medications, substance use, and prescription drug diversion, and misuse. Descriptive analysis was performed to estimate the prevalence of prescription drug diversion, and misuse. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of prescription drug diversion, and misuse.

FINDINGS

Overall, 13% of the participants reported lifetime prescription drug diversion. The most common type of diversion was using prescription medication not prescribed by a healthcare provider (11%), followed by sharing of prescription medication (9%) and buying prescription medication without a medical script (5%). Twenty-three per cent of the participants reported prescription drug misuse in the past 90 days, with using prescription medication without a healthcare providers' guidance (9%) and not following the scheduled time periods (8%) being the most common reported types of misuse. Self-medicating was identified as a risk factor for prescription drug misuse. There was no association between ART adherence and prescription drug diversion, and misuse.

CONCLUSION

The study findings contribute to improving the limited data available on prescription drug diversion, and misuse among PLWH in South Africa. The prevalence underscores a need for urgent interventions when prescribing medications with potential risks. Addressing the risk of self-medicating is imperative for HIV care outcomes and to avert death.

Risk factors for prescription drug diversion among people living with HIV: a systematic scoping review

BACKGROUND

In addition to numerous infections and frequent pain constantly affecting people living with HIV (PLWH), various risk factors might contribute to prescription drug diversion. The purpose of the study is to map existing evidence on risk factors contributing to prescription drug diversion among PLWH.

METHODS

Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the recommendation by Levac et al. (2010) guided this study. We searched for relevant literature from the following databases: PubMed; Google Scholar; EBSCOhost (Academic Search Complete, MEDLINE and Newspaper Source), Cochrane, WHO, HIV, ScienceDirect and Open Access Theses and Dissertations. Studies reporting evidence on risk factors contributing to prescription drug diversion and published in the period January 1996 to July 2017 were included. Thematic content analysis was performed to summarize the findings.

RESULTS

The search identified 734 studies. After full-text screening of the eligible studies, risk factors contributing to prescription drug diversion among PLWH were reported in 20 included studies. It was found that there is limited research on prescription drug diversion among PLWH in low-middle-income countries (LMICs). Risk factors contributing to prescription drug diversion were being a substance user or substance dependent; being male; young in age; being stigmatized; not disclosed HIV status; diagnosed with mental health problems; being HIV infected; poor health and well being; being White; being homeless or not owing a home; having low educational level; having history of diversion, misuse or abuse; in possession of addictive prescriptions; being unemployed and living in high neighbourhood disorder.

CONCLUSION

Evidence shows that there is limited research on prescription drug diversion among PLWH in LMICs. The study findings show that the risk factors contributing to prescription drug diversion are related with risk factors for HIV transmission and infection.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42017074076.

Prescription drug diversion among people living with HIV: a systematic scoping review

OBJECTIVES

Globally, people living with HIV (PLWH) are at greater risk for various infections and chronic pain, therefore, vulnerable to prescription drug diversion which might negatively impact HIV care. The study purpose is to gather evidence on prescription drug diversion among PLWH.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a systematic scoping review.

METHODS

Arksey and O'Malley's framework and recommendation by Levac et al. were used to guide this study. Literature was searched in PubMed, Google Scholar, EBSCOhost (Academic Search Complete, MEDLINE and Newspaper Source) and Open Access Theses and Dissertations. Studies reporting evidence of prescription drug diversion from January 1996 to July 2017 were included. Thematic content analysis was performed to summarize data on the prevalence.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine studies were eligible for data synthesis. Twenty-six studies were conducted in the United States of America (USA), one study in France and two multicountry studies; one study in Kenya and Uganda and the other study in Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa; Zimbabwe, India, Thailand, Brazil and the USA. Research evidence shows high prevalence of prescription drug diversion for analgesics and antiretroviral drugs; meanwhile, stimulants and erectile dysfunction drugs were the least diverted drugs among PLWH. There is a research gap in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) investigating prescription drug diversion among PLWH.

CONCLUSION

Our findings reveal that diversion of various prescription drug classes among PWLH exists. There is lack of research in LMICs. We recommend research in LMICs where there is high HIV prevalence.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42017074076.

2017 HIVMA of IDSA Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Chronic Pain in Patients Living With HIV

Pain has always been an important part of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease and its experience for patients. In this guideline, we review the types of chronic pain commonly seen among persons living with HIV (PLWH) and review the limited evidence base for treatment of chronic noncancer pain in this population. We also review the management of chronic pain in special populations of PLWH, including persons with substance use and mental health disorders. Finally, a general review of possible pharmacokinetic interactions is included to assist the HIV clinician in the treatment of chronic pain in this population.It is important to realize that guidelines cannot always account for individual variation among patients. They are not intended to supplant physician judgment with respect to particular patients or special clinical situations. The Infectious Diseases Society of American considers adherence to these guidelines to be voluntary, with the ultimate determination regarding their application to be made by the physician in the light of each patient's individual circumstances.

A qualitative exploration of chronic pain and opioid treatment among HIV patients with drug use disorders

OBJECTIVE

The study explored high-risk participants' experiences with pain management regarding clinical access to and use of prescription opioids.

DESIGN

Qualitative semistructured interviews and focus groups.

SETTING

Data were collected August 2014 to May 2015 at an urban community-based research facility in Baltimore City, MD.

PARTICIPANTS

HIV participants with chronic pain and a history of illicit drug use.

METHODS

Qualitative coding and analysis used an iterative, inductive, and thematic approach and coders achieved inter-coder consistency.

RESULTS

The authors identified two major themes. First, participants had positive and negative interactions with healthcare providers regarding chronic pain treatment. Participants perceived that providers lacked empathy for their pain and/or were not adequately managing their pain. These interactions resulted in participants seeking new providers or mistrusting the medical system. Further, providers' surveillance of participants' pain treatment regimen contributed to distress surrounding pain management. The second theme centered on participants' pain management experiences with prescribed opioid analgesics. Participants felt they were receiving dosages and classes of analgesics that did not sufficiently address their pain, and consequently modified their dosages or rationed prescription opioids. Other participants were reluctant to take analgesics due to their history of illicit drug use. Some participants relapsed to illicit drug use when they felt their prescription opioids did not adequately address their pain needs.

CONCLUSIONS

Participant struggles with receiving and managing prescribed opioid analgesics suggest a need for: therapies beyond these medications; guidelines for providers specific to this population; and harm reduction trainings for providers.

Prescription Opioid Use is Associated with Virologic Failure in People Living with HIV

Prescription opioid misuse is a rising epidemic in the U.S., and people living with HIV are at increased risk. We assessed the association between prescription opioid use and virologic failure in HIV+ patients in the South Texas HIV Cohort. We found prescription opioid use was significantly associated with virologic failure, after adjustment for age, race, gender, insurance status, years living with HIV, reported HIV risk factor, chronic hepatitis C virus infection, current substance abuse, and care engagement. These findings suggest that opioid analgesic use may have negative consequences beyond misuse in people living with HIV.

Clinical Toxicology and Its Relevance to Asthma and Atopy

Although both the prevalence of asthma and the prescription drug use, notably the opiate analgesic class, epidemics are increasing, there is a complex interplay between both disorders, with both protective and exacerbating factors involved in the effect of opiates on asthma pathogenesis and clinical severity. This review examines the airway effects, both immunologic and neurologic, of opiates, which may interact and result in protection or exacerbation of asthma.

The Association Between Receipt of Guideline-Concordant Long-Term Opioid Therapy and All-Cause Mortality

PURPOSE

For patients receiving long-term opioid therapy (LtOT), the impact of guideline-concordant care on important clinical outcomes--notably mortality--is largely unknown, even among patients with a high comorbidity and mortality burden (e.g., HIV-infected patients). Our objective was to determine the association between receipt of guideline-concordant LtOT and 1-year all-cause mortality.

METHODS

Among HIV-infected and uninfected patients initiating LtOT between 2000 and 2010 through the Department of Veterans Affairs, we used Cox regression with time-updated covariates and propensity-score matched analyses to examine the association between receipt of guideline-concordant care and 1-year all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

Of 17,044 patients initiating LtOT between 2000 and 2010, 1048 patients (6%) died during 1 year of follow-up. Patients receiving psychotherapeutic co-interventions (hazard ratio [HR] 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.51-0.75; P < 0.001) or physical rehabilitative therapies (HR 0.81; 95% CI 0.67-0.98; P = 0.03) had a decreased risk of all-cause mortality compared to patients not receiving these services, whereas patients prescribed benzodiazepines concurrent with opioids had a higher risk of mortality (HR 1.39; 95% CI 1.12-1.66; P < 0.001). Among patients with a current substance use disorder (SUD), those receiving SUD treatment had a lower risk of mortality than untreated patients (HR 0.47; 95% CI 0.32-0.68; P = < 0.001). No association was found between all-cause mortality and primary care visits (HR 1.12; 95% CI 0.90-1.26; P = 0.32) or urine drug testing (HR 0.96; 95% CI 0.78-1.17; P = 0.67).

CONCLUSIONS

Providers should use caution in initiating LtOT in conjunction with benzodiazepines and untreated SUDs. Patients receiving LtOT may benefit from multi-modal treatment that addresses chronic pain and its associated comorbidities across multiple disciplines.

Using health information technology to improve adherence to opioid prescribing guidelines in primary care

Objective:

To evaluate the impact of a clinical dashboard for opioid analgesic management on opioid prescribing and adherence to opioid practice guidelines in primary care.

Methods:

A pre/postimplementation evaluation using electronic health record (EHR) data from patients receiving chronic opioid therapy (COT) between April 1, 2011 and March 31, 2013. Measures include annual proportions of COT patients who received urine drug testing, signed an opioid treatment agreement, had a documented assessment of pain-related functional status, and had at least 1 visit with a behavioral health provider.

Results:

Adherence to several opioid prescribing guidelines improved in the postimplementation year compared with the preimplementation year: (1) the proportions of COT patients with a signed opioid treatment agreement and urine drug testing increased from 49% to 63% and 66% to 86%, respectively. The proportion of COT patients with a documented assessment of functional status increased from 33% to 46% and those with a behavioral health visit increased from 24% to 28%. However, there was a small decline in the proportion of patients prescribed COT from 3.4% to 3.1%.

Discussion:

Implementation of an opioid dashboard led to increased adherence to certain opioid practice guidelines and a decline in COT. This may be attributable to more efficient team-based pain management facilitated by the dashboard and increased transparency of opioid prescription practices. Health Information Technology solutions such as clinical dashboards can increase adherence to practice guidelines.

Primary care providers' experiences with urine toxicology tests to manage prescription opioid misuse and substance use among chronic noncancer pain patients in safety net health care settings

BACKGROUND

Guideline recommendations to reduce prescription opioid misuse among patients with chronic noncancer pain include the routine use of urine toxicology tests for high-risk patients. Yet little is known about how the implementation of urine toxicology tests among patients with co-occurring chronic noncancer pain and substance use impacts primary care providers' management of misuse. Clinicians' perspectives on the benefits and challenges of implementing urine toxicology tests in the monitoring of opioid misuse and substance use in safety net health care settings are presented in this paper.

METHODS

Twenty-three primary care providers from 6 safety net health care settings whose patients had a diagnosis of co-occurring chronic noncancer pain and substance use were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using grounded theory methodology.

RESULTS

The benefits of implementing urine toxicology tests for primary care providers included less reliance on intuition to assess for misuse and the ability to identify unknown opioid misuse and/or substance use. The challenges of implementing urine toxicology tests included insufficient education and training about how to interpret and implement tests, and a lack of clarity on how and when to act on tests that indicated misuse and/or substance use.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that primary care clinicians' lack of education and training to interpret and implement urine toxicology tests may impact their management of patient opioid misuse and/or substance use. Clinicians may benefit from additional education and training about the clinical implementation and use of urine toxicology tests. Additional research is needed on how primary care providers implementation and use of urine toxicology tests impacts chronic noncancer pain management in primary care and safety net health care settings among patients with co-occurring chronic non cancer pain and substance use.

Exploring the experience of chronic pain among female Survival Sex Workers: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of self-identified chronic pain in Canadian adults is approximately one in five people. Marginalization and addictions have been shown to complicate chronic pain in vulnerable populations. This study aimed to understand the experience of chronic pain among female Survival Sex Workers in Vancouver's downtown eastside (DTES).

METHODS

This study used an exploratory qualitative analysis with in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Members of PACE Society who self-identified as a current or former Survival Sex Worker and who had a chronic pain experience known to PACE support workers were invited to participate. Interviews were conducted, audio recorded and transcribed. The investigators met to read the transcripts and discuss emerging themes. The process continued until no new themes were observed.

RESULTS

Participants ranged in age from 42 to 56 years old and all self- identified as females and Survival Sex Workers. Eleven of thirteen interviews were analyzed for themes. Drug use for pain management, both prescribed and illicit, was the most important theme. Poverty, the need to continue working and the lack of stable housing were barriers to adequately addressing the source of chronic pain. Participants felt judged for living in the downtown eastside, being a drug user and/or being Aboriginal and only two participants had been referred to a pain specialist. All participants were involved in support networks made up of other Sex Workers and all spoke of a sense of community and survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study emphasizes the complex nature of chronic pain and addictions among a uniquely marginalized population. The study is unique in that it contributes the perspectives of a traditionally "hard-to-reach" population and demonstrates that Sex Workers should not only participate in but should lead development and implementation of research and programs for managing chronic pain in the setting of addiction.

Pain self-management in HIV-infected individuals with chronic pain: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

Chronic pain in individuals with HIV is a common, impairing condition. Behavioral interventions for chronic pain specifically tailored to this population have yet to be developed. We assert that understanding self-management strategies already used by persons living with these conditions is an essential first step, and is the objective of this investigation.

DESIGN

We conducted a thematic analysis of qualitative data from 25 in-depth interviews with individuals with HIV and chronic pain.

RESULTS

The primary pain self-management strategies articulated by participants were: physical activity; cognitive and spiritual strategies; spending time with family and friends and social support; avoidance of physical/social activity; medication-centric pain management; and substance use.

CONCLUSIONS

Some of these strategies may be viewed as beneficial and overlap with known HIV self-management strategies (cognitive strategies), whereas others may have negative health consequences (substance use). Interventions that incorporate healthy self-management strategies may be particularly effective in improving both HIV and pain outcomes.

Aberrant drug-related behaviors: a qualitative analysis of medical record documentation in patients referred to an HIV/chronic pain clinic

BACKGROUND

Due to rising rates of opioid addiction and overdose among individuals on chronic opioid therapy, aberrant drug-related behaviors (ADRBs) are an important and challenging issue. Our objective was to qualitatively investigate the documentation of ADRBs in the medical record.

METHODS

Manually abstracted provider notes from an HIV primary care clinic were analyzed using content analysis methods.

RESULTS

Categories of ADRBs identified included patients requesting opioids, obtaining nonprescribed opioids, and becoming emotional about opioids. We also identified several types of provider language used when documenting ADRBs, including purely descriptive language and emotional language such as labeling, frustration, and concern, and responses such as setting conditions for opioid prescription and action-oriented language.

CONCLUSIONS

The impact of including emotional language in the medical record is unknown. Development of instruments that can be used to facilitate ADRB documentation, as well as evidence-based approaches to addressing ADRBs, is needed.

Opioid analgesic misuse is associated with incomplete antiretroviral adherence in a cohort of HIV-infected indigent adults in San Francisco

There is little or no data examining the association between either pain or the use or misuse of opioid analgesic with adherence to antiretroviral medications (ARVs) among HIV-infected adults. We interviewed a community-based cohort of HIV-infected indigent adults prescribed antiretroviral medications (ARVs) quarterly to examine the association between (1) pain, (2) receipt of opioid analgesics, and (3) opioid analgesic misuse with self-reported ARV adherence. Of 281 participants, most (82.5 %) reported severe or moderate pain, half (52.4 %) received a prescription for opioids, and one quarter (24.6 %) misused opioid analgesics. Most (71.9 %) reported >90 % ARV adherence. In a GEE model, neither pain (unadjusted OR 1.14, CI 0.90–1.45) nor prescription of opioid analgesics (unadjusted OR 1.11, CI 0.84–1.49) were significantly associated with ARV adherence. Misuse of opioid analgesics was associated with incomplete adherence (AOR 1.42, CI 1.09–1.86). Individuals who misuse opioid analgesics, like those who use illicit substances, may have difficulty adhering to medication regimens.

How clinicians use prescription drug monitoring programs: a qualitative inquiry

OBJECTIVES

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are now active in most states to assist clinicians in identifying potential controlled drug misuse, diversion, or excessive prescribing. Little is still known about the ways in which they are incorporated into workflow and clinical decision making, what barriers continue to exist, and how clinicians are sharing PDMP results with their patients.

DESIGN

Qualitative data were collected through online focus groups and telephone interviews.

SETTING

Clinicians from pain management, emergency and family medicine, psychiatry/behavioral health, rehabilitation medicine, internal medicine and dentistry participated.

PATIENTS

Thirty-five clinicians from nine states participated.

METHODS

We conducted two online focus groups and seven telephone interviews. A multidisciplinary team then used a grounded theory approach coupled with an immersion-crystallization strategy for identifying key themes in the resulting transcripts.

RESULTS

Some participants, mainly from pain clinics, reported checking the PDMP with every patient, every time. Others checked only for new patients, for new opioid prescriptions, or for patients for whom they suspected abuse. Participants described varied approaches to sharing PDMP information with patients, including openly discussing potential addiction or safety concerns, avoiding discussion altogether, and approaching discussion confrontationally. Participants described patient anger or denial as a common response and noted the role of patient satisfaction surveys as an influence on prescribing.

CONCLUSION

Routines for accessing PDMP data and how clinicians respond to it vary widely. As PDMP use becomes more widespread, it will be important to understand what approaches are most effective for identifying and addressing unsafe medication use.

The issues around opioid prescribing in HIV-related pain

SUMMARY Opioids are very useful analgesics but reports of abuse, addiction and occasionally death have led to an increase in scrutiny, particularly for chronic opioid therapy. The development of effective antiretroviral therapy has changed the focus of treatment of people living with HIV from palliative care to the management of a chronic disease. It is appropriate, therefore, to review the issues around opioid prescribing in HIV in light of this and recent research, and to review the guidance available. This review briefly examines the epidemiology of pain in people living with HIV and then the use and issues around strong opioid prescribing in this group.

It made my life a little easier: primary care providers' beliefs and attitudes about using opioid treatment agreements

OBJECTIVE

To understand primary care providers (PCPs)' experiences, beliefs, and attitudes about using opioid treatment agreements (OTAs) for patients with chronic pain.

DESIGN

Qualitative research study.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-eight internists and family medicine physicians at two health centers.

APPROACH

Semistructured telephone interviews, informed by the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction. Themes were analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach, and similarities and differences in themes were examined among OTA adopters, nonadopters, and selective adopters.

RESULTS

Participants were 64 percent female and 68 percent white, and practiced for a mean of 9.5 years. Adoption of OTAs varied: seven were adopters, five were nonadopters, and 16 were selective adopters. OTA adoption reflected PCPs' beliefs and attitudes in the following three thematic categories: 1) perceived effect of OTA use on the therapeutic alliance, 2) beliefs about the utility of OTAs for patients or providers, and 3) perception of patients' risk for opioid misuse. PCPs commonly believed that OTAs were useful for physician self-protection, but few believed that they prevent opioid misuse. Selective adopters expressed ambivalent beliefs and made decisions about OTA use for individual patients based on both observed data and a subjective sense of each patient's risk for misuse.

CONCLUSIONS

Substantial variability in PCP use of OTAs reflects differences in PCP beliefs and attitudes. Research to understand the impact of OTA use on providers, patients, and the therapeutic alliance is urgently needed to guide best practices.

The effect of cognitive load and patient race on physicians' decisions to prescribe opioids for chronic low back pain: a randomized trial

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that racial biases in opioid prescribing would be more likely under high levels of cognitive load, defined as the amount of mental activity imposed on working memory, which may come from environmental factors such as stressful conditions, chaotic workplace, staffing insufficiency, and competing demands, one's own psychological or physiological state, as well as from demands inherent in the task at hand.

DESIGN

Two (patient race: White vs Black) by two (cognitive load: low vs high) between-subjects factorial design.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Ninety-eight primary care physicians from the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System.

METHODS

Web-based experimental study. Physicians were randomly assigned to read vignettes about either a Black or White patient, under low vs high cognitive load, and to indicate their likelihood of prescribing opioids. High cognitive load was induced by having physicians perform a concurrent task under time pressure.

RESULTS

There was a three-way interaction between patient race, cognitive load, and physician gender on prescribing decisions (P = 0.034). Hypotheses were partially confirmed. Male physicians were less likely to prescribe opioids for Black than White patients under high cognitive load (12.5% vs 30.0%) and were more likely to prescribe opioids for Black than White patients under low cognitive load (30.8% vs 10.5%). By contrast, female physicians were more likely to prescribe opioids for Black than White patients in both conditions, with greater racial differences under high (39.1% vs 15.8%) vs low cognitive load (28.6% vs 21.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

Physician gender affected the way in which patient race and cognitive load influenced decisions to prescribe opioids for chronic pain. Future research is needed to further explore the potential effects of physician gender on racial biases in pain treatment, and the effects of physician cognitive load on pain treatment.

Management of pain with comorbid substance abuse

Substance use disorders are a large public health problem in the United States. Over the past decade, there has been a trend of increased prescription drug misuse, morbidity, and mortality related to prescription opioids. For providers who treat pain, this has led to clinical dilemmas as the newly appreciated risks must be balanced with the benefits of treatment, particularly in patients with known substance use disorders. Acute, chronic, and palliative each present distinct issues in pain treatment. A best practices model of pain treatment, including risk stratification and integrative treatment, may provide the best prospect for safe and effective treatment.

Do patients know they are on pain medication agreements? Results from a sample of high-risk patients on chronic opioid therapy

OBJECTIVE

Pain medicine agreements are frequently recommended for use with high-risk patients on chronic opioid therapy. We assessed how consistently pain medicine agreements were used and whether patients were aware that they had signed a pain medicine agreement in a sample of HIV-infected adults prescribed chronic opioid treatment.

DESIGN

We recruited patients from a longitudinal cohort of community-based HIV-infected adults and recruited the patients' primary care providers (PCPs). The patients completed in-person interviews and PCPs completed mail-based questionnaires about the patients' use of pain medicine agreements. Among patients prescribed chronic opioid therapy, we analyzed the prevalence of pain medicine agreement use, patient factors associated with their use, and agreement between patient and clinician reports of pain agreements.

RESULTS

We had 84 patient-clinician dyads, representing 38 PCPs. A total of 72.8% of patients fit the diagnostic criteria for a lifetime substance use disorder. PCPs reported using pain medicine agreements with 42.9% of patients. Patients with pain medicine agreements were more likely to be smokers (91.7% vs 58.3%; P = 0.001) and had higher mean scores on the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain (µ = 26.0 [standard deviation, SD] = 9.7) vs µ = 19.5 [SD = 9.3]; P = 0.003). Patients reported having a pain medicine agreement with a sensitivity of 61.1% and a specificity of 64.6%.

CONCLUSIONS

In a high-risk sample, clinicians were using agreements at a low rate, but were more likely to use them with patients at highest risk of misuse. Patients exhibited low awareness of whether they signed a pain medicine agreement.

Primary care providers' views on chronic pain management among high-risk patients in safety net settings

OBJECTIVE

We examined chronic pain management practices and confidence and satisfaction levels in treating chronic pain among primary care providers (PCPs) who cared for high-risk patients in safety net health settings.

DESIGN

We recruited PCPs (N = 61) through their HIV-infected patients who were enrolled in a longitudinal study on pain, use, and misuse of opioid analgesics (Pain Study). We asked PCPs to complete a questionnaire about all of their patients in their practice on the prevalence of chronic pain and illicit substance use, use of opioid analgesics, confidence and satisfaction levels in treating chronic pain, and likelihood of prescribing opioid analgesics in response to clinical vignettes.

RESULTS

All PCPs cared for at least some patients with chronic pain, and the majority prescribed opioid analgesics for its treatment. All PCPs cared for at least some patients who used illicit substances. PCPs reported low confidence and satisfaction levels in treating chronic pain. The majority (73.8%) of PCPs were highly likely to prescribe opioid analgesics to a patient without a history of substance use who had chronic pain. The majority (88.5%) were somewhat to highly likely to prescribe opioid analgesics to a patient with a prior history of substance use but not active use. Most (67.2%) were somewhat to highly likely to prescribe opioids to a patient with active substance use.

CONCLUSION

In order to improve PCPs' confidence and satisfaction in managing chronic pain, further work should explore the root causes of low confidence and satisfaction and also explore possible remedies.

The influence of implicit bias on treatment recommendations for 4 common pediatric conditions: pain, urinary tract infection, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and asthma

OBJECTIVES

We examined the association between pediatricians' attitudes about race and treatment recommendations by patients' race.

METHODS

We conducted an online survey of academic pediatricians (n = 86). We used 3 Implicit Association Tests to measure implicit attitudes and stereotypes about race. Dependent variables were recommendations for pain management, urinary tract infections, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and asthma, measured by case vignettes. We used correlational analysis to assess associations among measures and hierarchical multiple regression to measure the interactive effect of the attitude measures and patients' race on treatment recommendations.

RESULTS

Pediatricians' implicit (unconscious) attitudes and stereotypes were associated with treatment recommendations. The association between unconscious bias and patient's race was statistically significant for prescribing a narcotic medication for pain following surgery. As pediatricians' implicit pro-White bias increased, prescribing narcotic medication decreased for African American patients but not for the White patients. Self-reported attitudes about race were associated with some treatment recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatricians' implicit attitudes about race affect pain management. There is a need to better understand the influence of physicians' unconscious beliefs about race on pain and other areas of care.

A review of opioid prescribing practices and associations with repeat opioid prescriptions in a contemporary outpatient HIV clinic

OBJECTIVES

Among persons in current HIV outpatient care, data on opioid prescribing are lacking. This study aims to evaluate predictors of repeat opioid prescribing and to characterize outpatient opioid prescribing practices.

METHODS

Retrospective cross-sectional study of persons ≥18 years in HIV outpatient care who completed an annual behavioral assessment between June 2008 and June 2009. Persons were grouped by ≤1 and ≥2 opioid prescriptions (no-repeat-opioid and repeat-opioids, respectively). Independent predictors for repeat-opioids were evaluated. Opioid prescribing practices were characterized in a sub-study of persons prescribed any opioid.

RESULTS

Overall, 659 persons were included, median age 43 years, 70% men, and 68% African American. Independent predictors of repeat-opioids (88 [13%] persons) included opportunistic illnesses (both current and previous), depression, peripheral neuropathy, and hepatitis C coinfection (P<0.05). In the subgroup, 140 persons received any opioid prescription (96% short-acting, 33% tramadol). Indications for opioid prescribing were obtained in 101 (72%) persons, with 97% for noncancer-related pain symptoms. Therapeutic response was documented on follow-up in 67 (48%) persons, with no subjective relief of symptoms in 63%. Urine drug screens were requested in 6 (4%) persons, and all performed were positive for illicit drugs.

CONCLUSIONS

Advanced HIV disease and greater medical and neuropsychiatric comorbidity predict repeat opioid prescribing, and these findings reflect the underlying complexities in managing pain symptoms in this population. We also highlight multiple deficiencies in opioid prescribing practices and nonadherence to guidelines, which are of concern as effective and safe pain management for our HIV-infected population is an optimal goal.