Opioid Prescriptions for US Patients Undergoing Long-Term Dialysis or with Kidney Transplant from 2011 to 2020

What is it about?

Pain is an important, and common problem for dialysis and kidney transplant patients. Although pain must be compassionately addressed in ESKD patients, options for treating pain with medications in dialysis and kidney transplant patients may be limited. Several years ago, reports emerged suggesting that the rate of prescription of opioid medications to dialysis and kidney transplant patients was quite high. Our new, more recent findings suggest that the rate of prescription of opioid medications to dialysis and kidney transplants has decreased from 2011 to 2020. There is, however, still a relationship between higher prescribed opioid medication doses and death for dialysis and kidney transplant patients. Choosing the right kind and dose of medication must be decided between patients and physicians, and well-designed randomized controlled trials must be developed to guide choices of pain treatments in this group of patients.

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