Rising Prevalence of Opioid Use Disorder and Predictors for Opioid Use Disorder among Hospitalized Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis

Objectives We aimed to evaluate the prevalence, impact, and predictors of opioid use disorder (OUD) in hospitalized chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed using the National Inpatient Sample database from 2005 to 2014. Patients with a primary diagnosis of CP and OUD were included. The primary outcome was evaluating the prevalence and trend of OUD in patients hospitalized with CP. Secondary outcomes were to (1) assess the impact of OUD on health care resource utilization and (2) identify predictors of OUD in hospitalized CP patients. Results A total of 176,857 CP patients were included, and OUD was present in 3.8% of patients. The prevalence of OUD in CP doubled between 2005 and 2014. Patients with CP who had OUD were found to have higher mean length of stay (adjusted mean difference, 1.2 days; P < 0.001) and hospitalization costs (adjusted mean difference, US $1936; P < 0.001). Independent predictors of OUD in CP patients were obesity, presence of depression, and increased severity of illness. Conclusions Opioid use disorder-related diagnoses are increasing among CP patients and are associated with increased health care resource utilization. Our study identifies patients at high-risk for OUD whose pain should be carefully managed.