Impact of an emergency department opioid prescribing guideline on emergency physician behaviour and incidence of overdose in the Saskatoon Health Region: a retrospective pre–post implementation analysis

Abstract

T he number of deaths related to opioid overdose has increased substantially in North America over the past decade. 1,2 In British Columbia, there were 374 fentanyl-related overdose deaths between January and October 2016, an increase of 194% over the same period in 2015. 3 Acute care centres and emergency departments have been proposed as potential drivers of this epidemic, [4][5][6][7] including in a recent longitudinal study in Ontario that showed that patients who received opioid prescriptions in the emergency department had a higher risk of admission for opioid toxicity over 2 years. 5 With its high patient volume and lack of a preexisting patientprovider relationship, the emergency department has been identified as a possible location where opioid use disorders may develop, with upward of 29% of those misusing opioids having been initially exposed in this setting. [5][6][7] The number of opioids prescribed during emergency depart-ment visits in the United States rose substantially over 2001-2010 and continues to trend upward. 8 The increase in opioid prescriptions has been attributed to numerous factors including aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies, the desire to minimize acute and chronic pain, and a lack of discussion between prescribers and patients

Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Opioid Prescribing for Patients Discharged From the Emergency Department

“…Of these, 180 were kept for full-text review, and 63 unique studies were included in the review ( Figure 1 ). 12 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , …”

“… 69 , 94 , 102 All studies were published within the last 10 years (2013 to 2021). Studies used mainly preintervention-postintervention (n = 39) 12 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 35 , 39 , 40 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 and ITS (n = 21) 27 , 29 , 36 , 37 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , ...…”

“… 103 , 104 The EPG intervention was used to help reduce opioid prescriptions in 21 studies 31 , 32 , 35 , 36 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 ; PDMP, in 19 studies 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 ; EMR-QC, in 11 studies 37 , 39 , 40 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 ; CPC, in 10 studies 12 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , …”

“… 103 , 104 Fifty-two studies 12 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 54 , 55 , 57 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 65 , 66 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 93 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 102 included a mix of pain problems, and 56 included both acute and chronic pain. 12 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , …”

“…Ten of 21 ITS studies 27 , 36 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 demonstrated an overall moderate risk of bias (ROBINS-I); all other ITS and preintervention-postintervention studies 12 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 35 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 87 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , ...…”