The false vital sign: When pain levels are not predictive of discharge opioid prescriptions.

BACKGROUND

Pain gained recognition as a vital sign in the early 2000s, underscoring the importance of accurate documentation, characterization, and treatment of pain. No prior studies have demonstrated the utility of the 0-10 pain scale with respect to discharge opioid prescriptions, nor characterized the most influential factors in discharge prescriptions.

METHODS

Inpatient and emergency department(ED) encounters from July 1, 2012 to April 1, 2018 resulting in a discharge prescription for tablet opioid medications were identified. The primary outcome was to determine if pain levels in 24 h prior to discharge correlated with opioids (in milligrams of morphine equivalents (MME)) prescribed. Secondary outcomes included the impact of patient and prescriber demographics, demographics. A generalized linear model was created to investigate factors affecting the quantity of prescribed opioids.

RESULTS

n = 78,691 patient encounters. Overall mean adjusted MME for non-ED visits was 378 versus 197 for ED visits. Whites received the highest quantities; those identifying as non-white and non-black received the lowest. Women received significantly fewer discharge MMEs in both the ED and inpatient cohorts. Provider prescribing patterns exhibited the most profound effect on discharge MMEs. The most prolific (≥300 prescriptions over the study period) writing the largest amount. In the ED, there was a significant negative correlation between documented pain levels and discharge MMEs(ρ = 0.074,p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Pain scale was significantly negatively correlated with discharge MMEs in the ED and positively correlated in the inpatient population. Individual prescriber characteristics were the more influential variable, with prolific high prescribers writing for the largest MME amounts. The inverse association of pain and MMEs at discharge in the ED, and the large effect pre-existing prescriber patterns exhibited, both improved methodology for assessing and appropriately treating pain, and effective prescriber-targeted interventions, must be a priority.