Comparison of Patient-Reported Use of Opioids and OTC Analgesics, and Pain Over Time
| Measure | Week 1 (N = 203) | Week 2 (N = 202) | Week 3 (N = 201) | Week 4 (N = 201) | Interaction P Valuea | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Use (n = 90) | High Use (n = 113) | Low Use (n = 89) | High Use (n = 113) | Low Use (n = 89) | High Use (n = 112) | Low Use (n = 89) | High Use (n = 112) | ||
| Opioids taken, | 20.1 | 146.0 | 2.7 | 32.1 | 0.93 | 21.6 | 0.93 | 15.9 | .72b |
| mean (SD) | (23.9) | (87.5) | (6.6) | (53.5) | (3.5) | (71.2) | (3.9) | (52.1) | |
| [median], MMEs | [13.1] | [140.0] | [0] | [7.5] | [0] | [0] | [0] | [0] | |
| Opioids left over, | 102.8 | 74.6 | 94.2 | 57.0 | 89.4 | 56.7 | 83.3 | 54.1 | .95 |
| mean (SD) | (114.4) | (66.6) | (108.9) | (63.8) | (103.9) | (75.3) | (103.0) | (91.0) | |
| [median], MMEs | [80.6] | [60.0] | [75.0] | [37.5] | [67.5] | [30.0] | [45.0] | [15.0] | |
| OTC analgesics taken, No. (%) | |||||||||
| Acetaminophen | 21 (23.3) | 25 (22.1) | 15 (16.9) | 26 (23.0) | 14 (15.7) | 27 (24.1) | 9 (10.1) | 18 (16.1) | .11 |
| NSAIDs | 57 (63.3) | 72 (63.7) | 51 (57.3)c | 88 (77.9)c | 35 (39.3)c | 69 (61.6)c | 26 (29.2)c | 58 (51.8)c | .03 |
| Both | 17 (18.9) | 16 (14.2) | 12 (13.5) | 21 (18.6) | 11 (12.4) | 19 (17.0) | 6 (6.7) | 13 (11.6) | .08 |
| PROMIS pain, T score (SE)d | |||||||||
| Pain intensity | 47.2 (5.6) | 51.7 (5.7) | 42.9 (6.5) | 46.9 (6.6) | 38.6 (6.6) | 43.8 (7.4) | 36.5 (6.6) | 40.5 (7.1) | .18b |
| Pain interference | 58.5 (6.8) | 63.7 (6.1) | 53.0 (7.4) | 57.0 (7.5) | 48.7 (7.7) | 53.3 (8.2) | 46.0 (7.2) | 50.1 (8.3) | .36b |
MME = milligram morphine equivalent; NSAID = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug; OTC = over the counter; PROMIS = Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System.
Notes: Low use defined as ≤75 MMEs; high use defined as >75 MMEs. Associations between high vs low self-reported opioid use and each predictor were evaluated with separate binomial regressions accounting for repeated measures.
↵a Interaction of predictor by time.
↵b Measures for which a modified Poisson regression approach for clustered data was implemented. Significant predictor-by-week interactions were followed with post hoc tests between groups at each week.
↵c Significant (P <.002) group differences.
↵d A T score of 50 is the average for the US general population, with a standard deviation of 10. Higher scores indicate greater intensity or interference.