Opioid Dose and Benzodiazepine Use Among Commercially Insured Individuals on Chronic Opioid Therapy

To examine morphine milligram equivalent (MME) trends, use of concurrent opioids and benzodiazepines, and opioid-related emergency department (ED) visits or hospitalizations in a national cohort of patients on chronic opioid therapy.

Retrospective cohort analysis of prospectively collected data from the Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database from 2009 to 2015. This includes individuals in both the Commercial Claims and Medicare Supplemental databases of MarketScan.

MME comparisons of 1) patients on chronic opioids with and without opioid-related ED visits or hospitalizations, 2) patients on concurrent opioids and benzodiazepines with and without opioid-related ED visits or hospitalizations, and 3) patients on chronic opioids compared with those on concurrent opioid and benzodiazepine using the Student t test.

MME decreased from 194 mg in 2009 to 119 mg in 2015 among patients on chronic opioids. Patients on opioids and benzodiazepines had higher doses than those on opioids alone for all years (P < 0.001). Those with an opioid-related ED visit or hospitalization had a higher average MME than those without, for all years except 2009 (P < 0.05). Patients on chronic opioids or on concurrent benzodiazepine with an MME >50 had a twofold increased risk of having an opioid-related ED visit or hospitalization compared with those with an MME <50, for all years.

Although the average MME decreased over time, patients on combination opioid and benzodiazepine and those with opioid-related ED visits and hospitalizations had significantly higher doses.