Receipt of Opioid Analgesics by HIV-Infected and Uninfected Patients

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Opioids are increasingly prescribed, but there are limited data on opioid receipt by HIV status. OBJECTIVES To describe patterns of opioid receipt by HIV status and the relationship between HIV status and receiving any, high-dose, and long-term opioids. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of the Veterans Aging Cohort Study. PARTICIPANTS HIV-infected (HIV+) patients receiving Veterans Health Administration care, and uninfected matched controls. MAIN MEASURES Pain-related diagnoses were determined using ICD-9 codes. Any opioid receipt was defined as at least one opioid prescription; high-dose was defined as an average daily dose ≥120 mg of morphine equivalents; long-term opioids was defined as ≥90 consecutive days, allowing a 30 day refill gap. Multivariable models were used to assess the relationship between HIV infection and the three outcomes. KEY RESULTS Among the HIV+ ( n  = 23,651) and uninfected ( n  = 55,097) patients, 31 % of HIV+ and 28 % of uninfected ( p  < 0.001) received opioids. Among patients receiving opioids, HIV+ patients were more likely to have an acute pain diagnosis (7 % vs. 4 %), but less likely to have a chronic pain diagnosis (53 % vs. 69 %). HIV+ patients received a higher mean daily morphine equivalent dose than uninfected patients (41 mg vs. 37 mg, p  = 0.001) and were more likely to receive high-dose opioids (6 % vs. 5 %, p  < 0.001). HIV+ patients received fewer days of opioids than uninfected patients (median 44 vs. 60, p  < 0.001), and were less likely to receive long-term opioids (31 % vs. 34 %, p  < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, HIV+ status was associated with receipt of any opioids (AOR 1.40, 95 % CI 1.35, 1.46) and high-dose opioids (AOR 1.22, 95 % CI 1.07, 1.39), but not long-term opioids (AOR 0.94, 95 % CI 0.88, 1.01). CONCLUSIONS Patients with HIV infection are more likely to be prescribed opioids than uninfected individuals, and there is a variable association with pain diagnoses. Efforts to standardize approaches to pain management may be warranted in this highly complex and vulnerable patient population.