Opioid prescribing in the emergency department of a tertiary hospital: A retrospective audit of hospital discharge data

Abstract

Objective: EDs are a common source of prescription opioids on discharge. We explored opioid prescribing practices in an ED at a tertiary hospital in Victoria, Australia. Methods: A retrospective audit over a 6 month period of patients discharged from the ED to the community with the maximum allowable quantities of prescription opioids. Results: There was a total of 3301 patient-episodes discharged with a prescription from the ED. Of these, 766 (23.2%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 21.8–24.6) were prescribed opioids, with over half discharged with the maximum allowable quantities of prescription opioids. Immediate-release opioids were prescribed in 362 (85.8%, 95% CI 82.5–89.1) patient-episode..