In a new study, researchers found that opioids may be inappropriately prescribed to treat gout.
The research was conducted by a team from Brown University.
Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis.
Although there are effective treatments for the disease, opioids are commonly prescribed to patients who seek treatment at emergency departments.
In the current study, the team examined 456 patients with acute gout discharged from emergency departments in Rhode Island.
They found that more than 28% of the patients received an opioid prescription.
In addition, more than 25% of these patients received 14 days or more of opioid prescriptions, longer than the natural course of a typical gout attack.
They also found that diabetes, gout attacks affecting multiple joints, and opioid use prior to admission were linked to an increased likelihood of receiving opioid prescriptions.
The team says that there is a number of medications that can treat acute gout effectively. This could almost completely eliminate the need to use opioids.
The fact that 28% of patients are being treated with opioids, and much longer than 2 weeks, is very alarming.
The team hopes that their study provides an opportunity to reduce the burden of prescription opioids.
One lead author of the study is Deepan Dalal, MD, MPH, of Brown University Warren Alpert School of Medicine.
The study is published in Arthritis Care & Research.
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