Pattern and burden of opioid-related hospitalizations in the USA from 2016 to 2018

The current opioid crisis in the USA is a formidable challenge for the healthcare system, and the general population. Our objective is to characterize the burden of opioid-related disorders in an inpatient setting in the USA for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018 using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS).

A cross-sectional analysis of the NIS was performed to identify and analyse hospitalizations with an opioid-related diagnosis in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Descriptive statistics and regression models were utilized to define the demographics of the population of interest and measure the outcomes.

We identified 962 900 discharges with opioid-related diagnosis in 2016, 982 710 in 2017 and 942 110 in 2018. The majority were age <60 years, were found in residents of low-income zip codes and covered by Medicaid. The adjusted mean total hospitalization cost trended up from $12 828 (95% confidence interval [CI] 12 547-13 108) in 2016, to $13164.9 (95% CI 12 872.47-13 457.34) in 2017 and then to $13 626.65 (95% CI 13 325.95-13 927.34) in 2018. The adjusted mortality was highest in 2016; 2.26% (95% CI 2.16-2.35) and it trended down to 1.97% (95% CI 1.88-2.05) in 2017, and to 1.89% (95% CI 1.81-1.98) in 2018.

Opioid-related disorders cause a significant number of hospitalizations in the USA. A large proportion of these patients are age <60 years, have lower household income, and are covered by Medicaid. Programmes directed towards this specific group can help reduce the overall burden of hospitalizations.