Racial disparities in discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy following illicit drug use among black and white patients

In 2015, there were more than 33,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. attributed to prescription and illicit opioids (Rudd et al., 2016b). Although heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl are increasingly driving this evolving epidemic, more than 40% of all opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. are due to prescription opioids (Braden et al., 2008; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017; Manchikanti et al., 2011; Rudd et al., 2016b; Von Korff et al., 2008).

Source: Drug and Alcohol Dependence - August 6, 2018 Category: Addiction Authors: Julie R. Gaither, Kirsha Gordon, Stephen Crystal, E. Jennifer Edelman, Robert D. Kerns, Amy C. Justice, David A. Fiellin, William C. Becker Tags: Full length article Source Type: research