Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Prevalence and characteristics of hospitalized adults on chronic opioid therapy.
As chronic opioid therapy (COT) becomes more common, complexity of pain management in the inpatient setting increases; little is known about medical inpatients on COT. ⋯ COT is common among medical inpatients. Patients on COT differ from patients without COT beyond dissimilarities in pain and cancer diagnoses. Occasional and chronic opioid use are associated with increased risk of hospital readmission, and COT is associated with increased risk of death. Additional research relating COT to hospitalization outcomes is warranted.