Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36513985›Full record

Observational studyBMC primary care2022

An observational study of the factors associated with frequency of outpatient benzodiazepine prescribing to patients receiving chronic opioid analgesic therapy in primary care at a major academic center.

Nancy V Koch, Richard J Butterfield

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC primary care, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 80% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 0 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Nancy V KochDivision of General Internal Medicine (Koch) and Division of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics (Butterfield), Mayo Clinic, 13400 E Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ, USA. koch.nancy@mayo.edu.
Richard J ButterfieldDivision of General Internal Medicine (Koch) and Division of Clinical Trials and Biostatistics (Butterfield), Mayo Clinic, 13400 E Shea Blvd, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
Mayo Clinic in Arizona · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPrescribing benzodiazepines to patients taking chronic opioid analgesic therapy increases risks of adverse events. In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended avoidance of benzodiazepine prescribing concurrently with opioids, and various organizations have instituted similar guidelines. We aimed to determine the frequency and patterns of benzodiazepine prescribing at Mayo Clinic primary care (Community Internal Medicine, Family Medicine) clinics for patients taking chronic opioid analgesic therapy and the characteristics of patients receiving the prescriptions and providers administering them.

methodsThis retrospective observational study included adult patients taking chronic opioid analgesic therapy for 2 full years in 2018 and 2019 at Mayo Clinic primary care practices in Arizona and Florida. We assessed electronic health records for these individual patients to determine whether they received a benzodiazepine prescription during the study period and how frequently they received a prescription. Variations in prescriptions by provider specialty, location, and sex were studied. Documented data included receipt of a benzodiazepine prescription by patients with at-risk alcohol use or alcohol use disorder, depression, anxiety, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, falls, and psychiatric referral. Data were compared between patients who received benzodiazepines and those who did not with the Kruskal-Wallis test or χ

resultsStudy participants (N = 457) were predominantly women (n = 266, 58.2%); median age was 69 years. In total, 148 patients (32.4%) received benzodiazepine prescription. These patients were more likely to be women (P = .046) and younger (P = .02). Mean percentage change was 176.9% (P < .001) in number of benzodiazepine prescriptions provided from 2018 to 2019. Frequency of referral to mental health providers was low, as was presence of an established mental health provider despite a greater prevalence of anxiety (P < .001) and depression (P = .001) among patients receiving benzodiazepines.

conclusionBenzodiazepine prescription to individual patients taking chronic opioid analgesic therapy significantly increased from 2018 to 2019 despite the documented risks and harms associated with such practice. No statistically significant difference was observed in frequency of benzodiazepine prescriptions between practice location, sex of provider, or specialty.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidBenzodiazepinesAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleOutpatientsPrescriptionsPrimary Health CareAnalgesics, OpioidBenzodiazepinesAlcoholAnxietyChronic painElderlyFallsOutpatient practicePatient safetyPrescription drug abusePrimary carePsychiatry

Identifiers

PMID36513985
PMCPMC9749278
OpenAlexW4311347392

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.