Racial differences in the use of opioids after returning home from hospitalizations for hip fractures

In an analysis of information on 164,170 older adult Medicare beneficiaries who were hospitalized for hip fractures, a similar proportion of Black and white beneficiaries used opioids after they were discharged and returned to the community, but Black beneficiaries consistently received lower doses of the pain medications.

In the study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, investigators observed that on average, Black beneficiaries received the equivalent of around 250 fewer milligrams (mg) of oxycodone over 90 days and received around 5.8 fewer mg of oxycodone per day compared with white beneficiaries.

Asian patients used even fewer opioid doses during the first 90 days in the community (617–653 fewer mg of oxycodone) compared with white patients.

“These differences could represent racial disparities in how we treat pain after hip fractures, which could result in poorer long-term outcomes and repeat fractures,” said corresponding author Kaleen N. Hayes, PharmD, Ph.D., of the Brown University School of Public Health.