Long Term Effects of Opioid Use in Adolescent Trauma
Topic overview
Retrospective cohort study of 736 injured adolescents found persistent opioid use years after trauma discharge, with over 13% receiving 8+ prescriptions by year 4. Within 5 years post-injury, 14% developed substance use disorder and 8% experienced overdose, highlighting significant long-term addiction risk in this population.
Key takeaways
- Injured adolescents have 56% increased risk of substance use disorder within 3 years post-injury
- Over 20% of adolescent trauma patients fill >2 opioid prescriptions at 1 year; 13% have >8 fills at 4 years
- Within 5 years post-injury, 14% receive SUD diagnosis, 11% receive opioid antagonist, and 8% have overdose diagnosis
- Mental health diagnoses (depression 5.5%, PTSD 2.1%) are substantially lower in injured adolescents than adults
- Prolonged opioid use persists for years in subset of adolescent trauma patients, warranting close monitoring
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