SEATTLE – Epilepsy patients were significantly more likely to use opioid analgesics than were matched controls in a review of 2012 Accordant Health Services claims data.
Investigators matched 10,217 patients with epilepsy to 20,542 without epilepsy, based on gender, age, and insurance type. Cancer patients were among those excluded from the study. Based on prescriptions that were filled at least once, analgesic opioids were used by 26% of epilepsy patients versus 18% of controls (P < 0.001).
There was a significantly higher percentage of pain conditions in the epilepsy group, but diversion or other factors could also be at play, lead investigator Dr. Andrew Wilner, a neurologist with Angels Neurological Centers in Abington, Mass., explained at the annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society.
The investigation is on-going. In the meantime, he said it’s a good idea to ask epilepsy patients about opioid use.