Journal of addiction medicine
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To identify the incidence, characteristics, and predictors for 30 and 90-day readmission among acutely hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). ⋯ Among patients with OUD taking buprenorphine at the time of hospital admission, 30-day and 90-day hospital readmission was reduced by 53% and 43%, respectively.
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Opioid misuse constitutes a significant public health problem and is associated with a host of negative outcomes. Despite efforts to curb this increasing epidemic, opioids remain the most widely prescribed class of medications. Prescription opioids are often used to treat chronic pain despite the risks associated with use, and chronic pain remains an important factor in understanding this epidemic. Cannabis is another substance that has recently garnered attention in the chronic pain literature, as increasing numbers of individuals use cannabis to manage chronic pain. Importantly, the co-use of substances generally is associated with poorer outcomes than single substance use, yet little work has examined the impact of opioid-cannabis co-use. ⋯ These findings highlight a vulnerable population of polysubstance users with chronic pain, and indicates the need for more comprehensive assessment and treatment of chronic pain.