• Gary A Walco, Nancy Gove, Jennifer Phillips, and Steven J Weisman.
• Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington; Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Washington. Electronic address: gary.walco@seattlechildrens.org.
• J Pain. 2017 Oct 1; 18 (10): 1270-1276.

AbstractThis study aimed to describe utilization of opioid medications among infants, children, and adolescents on the inpatient setting. These data are needed to guide clinical trials and improve research methodologies, as well as to inform more about possible sources of opioid misuse in the United States. A retrospective chart review was conducted covering a span of 1 year, with a special focus on the prescription of opioids for long-term treatment of chronic pain. Opioid medications were prescribed for <5 days in most (75%) patients. Among those who were prescribed opioids for >14 days, the focus was often for reasons other than pain. These data indicate that models of chronic pain that may be utilized in clinical trials of longer-term opioid usage in pediatrics are exceedingly limited. In addition, the patterns of utilization indicate that opioid administration among pediatric inpatients is not a likely contributory factor to concerns about opioid misuse in the United States.Copyright © 2017 American Pain Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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