Children without severe conditions frequently filled outpatient opioid prescriptions for acute, self-limited conditions, a recent study found. The retrospective cohort study between 1999 and 2014 included Tennessee Medicaid children and adolescents aged 2-17 years without major chronic disease, prolonged hospitalization, or evidence of a substance use disorder. Researchers estimated the annual prevalence of outpatient opioid prescriptions and incidence of opioid-related adverse events. The found:

• There were 1,362,503 outpatient opioid prescriptions; the annual mean prevalence of opioid prescriptions was 15.0%.
• The most common opioid prescriptions were dental procedures (31.1%), outpatient procedure and/or surgery (25.1%), trauma (18.1%), and infections (16.5%).
• 1 of every 2,611 opioid prescriptions was followed by an opioid-related adverse event (71.2% of which were related to therapeutic use of the prescribed opioid).
• Adverse events increased with age and higher opioid doses.