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Trends in Dispensed Opioid Analgesic Prescriptions to Children in South Carolina: 2010-2017

William T Basco1, Jenna L McCauley2, Jingwen Zhang3

  • 1Departments of Pediatrics, bascob@musc.edu.

Pediatrics
|February 2, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Opioid prescriptions for children decreased significantly, but the average daily dosage remained largely unchanged. Further improvements in opioid prescribing and dispensing for pediatric patients are needed.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric pharmacology
  • Public health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Published data indicate a decline in opioid prescribing and dispensing to children.
  • Few studies have evaluated all children within a single state or examined changes in mean daily opioid dosages.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate changes in the rate of dispensed opioid analgesics for children aged 0-18 years.
  • To examine changes in the mean daily opioid dosage dispensed to pediatric patients over an 8-year period.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized South Carolina's prescription drug monitoring program data from 2010-2017.
  • Analyzed opioid analgesic prescriptions dispensed to individuals aged 0-18 years.
  • Employed generalized linear regression to assess trends in prescription rates and mean daily morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs).

Main Results:

  • The quarterly rate of dispensed opioid prescriptions decreased by 35.6% from 2010 to 2017.
  • The most significant declines in prescription rates were observed among 18-year-olds (41.2%).
  • Mean daily MMEs per prescription decreased by 7.6% overall, but this reduction was primarily seen in children aged 0-9 years.

Conclusions:

  • Opioid analgesic prescriptions dispensed to children in South Carolina declined substantially between 2010 and 2017.
  • The mean daily MME dispensed per prescription showed a minimal decrease, indicating room for improvement in opioid stewardship for pediatric populations.
Abstract

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