Impact of Opioid Use on Duration of Time Loss After Work-Related Lower Limb Injury.
Katrina Szucs, Shannon E Gray
PMID 35657441WHAT IT FOUND
Workers with lower limb injuries who were dispensed opioids took longer to return to work.
The effect was strongest for those given both strong and weak opioids, who had a median of 331 compensated days off compared to 31 days for those given no opioids.
Key findings
01Dispensation of all types of opioids was associated with increased duration of time loss, with a dose-response relationship where stronger opioids correlated with longer absence.
02Workers dispensed a combination of strong and weak opioids had the longest duration of time loss (median 331 days), followed by strong opioids alone (median 103 days) and weak opioids alone (median 72 days), compared to no opioids (median 31 days).
03Hip and knee injuries had the highest prevalence of opioid dispensation, and hip injuries specifically were associated with the highest number of opioid doses dispensed per worker.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study used administrative data which did not include information on injury severity, pain levels, or psychological factors, which are known confounders for both opioid use and recovery time. Data quality relied on claims manager coding, which may introduce errors in injury specifics and demographics. Short-term claims (under 10 working days) and opioid use during the initial excess period were likely not captured, potentially underestimating early opioid use and its impact. The study could not determine if strong and weak opioids were prescribed concurrently or sequentially, limiting understanding of the treatment pattern. Duration of time loss was measured as compensated days, which may not reflect actual return to work or uncompensated time off.
Declared interests
The research was supported by non-U.S. government funding. No specific commercial conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that opioids caused the longer time off. This is an observational study, and it is equally likely that workers with more severe injuries or higher pain levels were both prescribed opioids and took longer to recover. The association does not prove causation.