Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37400542›Full record

ArticleActa neurochirurgica2023

Effects of the 2016 CDC opioid prescription guidelines on opioid use and worker compensation case length in patients with back pain.

Anthony M Alvarado, Ethan Chung, Harel Deutsch

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Article in Acta neurochirurgica, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 21% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Pain severity and opioid use in patients with spine-related diagnoses.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2025
    Article
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

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Anthony M AlvaradoDepartment of Neurological Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W. Harrison St., Suite 855, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. Anthony_m_alvarado@rush.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8906-9412
Ethan ChungNorthwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Harel DeutschDepartment of Neurological Surgery, Rush University Medical Center, 1725 W. Harrison St., Suite 855, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
Rush University Medical Center · USNorthwestern University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundNarcotic consumption in the workers' compensation population contributes to prolonged case duration, worse clinical outcomes, and opioid dependence. In 2016, the CDC provided recommendations guiding clinicians on prescribing opioids to adult patients with chronic pain. The objective of our study was to evaluate a cause-and-effect relationship between narcotic consumption and worker compensation claim length before and following guideline revision.

methodsAn administration database was retrospectively queried to identify patients evaluated for spine-related workers' compensation claimants from 2011 to 2021. Data was recorded for age, sex, BMI, case length, narcotic usage, and injury location. Cases were grouped together by exam date before (2011-2016) and after (2017-2021) the 2016 CDC opioid guideline revision.

resultsSix hundred twenty-five patients were evaluated. Males composed 58% of the study population. From 2011 to 2016, narcotic consumption was reported in 54% of subjects versus no narcotic consumption in 46% of subjects (135 cases). From 2017 to 2021, narcotic consumption decreased to 37% (P = 0.00298). Prior to the guideline revision, mean case length was 635 days. Following CDC guideline revision, there was a significant decline in mean case length duration to 438 days (31% reduction) (P = 0.000868).

conclusionThis study demonstrates that following revised opioid prescription recommendations by the CDC in 2016, there was a statistically significant decline in opioid consumption and workers' compensation case length duration. Opioid use may influence prolonged worker disability and delayed return to work.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidOpioid-Related DisordersAdultBack PainCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.Drug PrescriptionsHumansMaleRetrospective StudiesUnited StatesWorkers' CompensationAnalgesics, OpioidBack painOpioidsSpineWorkers’ compensation

Identifiers

PMID37400542
OpenAlexW4382989523

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.