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A cross-sectional analysis of over-the-counter codeine use amongst an Australian sample of people who regularly inject drugs

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posted on 2023-05-17, 18:14 authored by Arora, S, Roxburgh, A, Raimondo BrunoRaimondo Bruno, Nielsen, S, Burns, L
combination drugs in a sample of people who inject drugs; and to examine risk factors associated with exceeding the recommended dose of OTC codeine, including the experience of pain. Design and Methods: Analysis of annual survey data from a convenience sample of people who inject drugs in Australia who are interviewed for the Illicit Drug Reporting System. People who have injected drugs (n=902) on at least a monthly basis in the preceding six months across Australia were interviewed. Participants were asked about their use of OTC codeine and their experience of pain. Results: One-third (35%) of participants had used OTC codeine in the preceding six months and 52% (95% confidence interval 48.7-55.3) of this group had exceeded the recommended dose on their last occasion of use. This clearly places them at increased risk of harms associated with toxicity from the accompanying analgesic found in combination codeine products. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that those exceeding the recommended codeine dose of OTC codeine were more likely to be experiencing moderate to very severe pain. Discussion: There is a need to evaluate the approach to pain management in this population. Greater pharmacist involvement, real time monitoring of sales, the development of screening tools to identify those at risk of harm and further education of primary care practitioners could be beneficial in reducing the risk of harm associated with these medications for all users of OTC codeine, including people who inject drugs.

Funding

Department of Health and Aged Care

History

Publication title

Drug and Alcohol Review

Volume

32

Issue

6

Pagination

574-581

ISSN

0959-5236

Department/School

School of Psychological Sciences

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Place of publication

United Kingdom

Rights statement

Copyright 2013 Wiley

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified

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