Opioid abuse/dependence in those hospitalized due to periapical abscess

At the 47th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research (CADR), Veerasathpurush Allareddy, University of Iowa, College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics, Iowa City, presented a poster titled "Opioid Abuse/Dependence in Those Hospitalized Due to Periapical Abscess." The AADR/CADR Annual Meeting is in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. from March 21-24, 2018.

Opioid abuse/dependence (OAD) is an emerging public health crisis in the USA. The objective of this study was to estimate the nationwide prevalence of OAD in those hospitalized due to periapical abscess in the U.S., testing the hypothesis that a mix of patient and geography related factors are associated with OAD in this cohort.

Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for years 2012 to 2014, all patients that were hospitalized due to periapical abscess were selected for analysis. OAD was identified and used as the outcome variable, and a mix of patient and geographic factors were used as independent variables.

During the study period 30,040 patients were hospitalized due to periapical abscess—1.5% of these had OAD. Those aged 18 to 29 years were associated with higher odds for OAD compared to those aged 45 to 64 years. Blacks were associated with lower odds for OAD compared to Whites and those covered by Medicare, Medicaid and Uninsured were associated with higher odds for OAD compared to those covered by private insurance.

Odds of OAD increased with co-morbid burden but there were no significant variations in OAD across geographic regions of USA and by hospital location/teaching status. Household income levels and gender were also not significantly associated with OAD.

"From this study," said Veerasathpurush Allareddy, "we see that the high risk groups that are likely to have OAD were identified amongst those hospitalized due to periapical abscess."

The study findings are based on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample which is sponsored by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.