Table 2.
Respondents’ perception of frequency of opioid treatment in the last month in their emergency department (n=134)*
| Provided to patients with acute pain | Never | 1%–4% | 5%–24% | 25%–49% | ≥50% |
| n (%) | |||||
| Intravenous meperidine | 114 (85) | 13 (10) | 5 (4) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Opioid prescription that: | |||||
| Is long acting or controlled release | 110 (82) | 18 (13) | 2 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Replaces those lost, destroyed or stolen | 91 (68) | 31 (23) | 4 (3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Is for more than a 3-day supply | 30 (22) | 49 (37) | 30 (22) | 15 (11) | 3 (2) |
| Provided to patients with chronic pain | |||||
| Intramuscular or intravenous opioids | 6 (4) | 34 (25) | 52 (39) | 24 (18) | 9 (7) |
| Intravenous meperidine | 118 (88) | 11 (8) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Replacement doses of opioid substitution therapy | 121 (90) | 5 (4) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Opioid prescription that: | |||||
| Is long acting or controlled release | 113 (84) | 16 (12) | 1 (1) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
| Replaces those lost, destroyed or stolen | 97 (72) | 26 (19) | 3 (2) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) |
| Is for more than a 3-day supply | 52 (39) | 43 (32) | 23 (17) | 10 (7) | 0 (0) |
| Opioid prescription for: | |||||
| Patients who received an opioid prescription within past month | 27 (20) | 49 (37) | 36 (27) | 9 (7) | 2 (1) |
| Patients who presented with the same problem within past month | 20 (15) | 64 (48) | 30 (22) | 9 (7) | 0 (0) |
*Although there were 134 respondents, some responded as ‘do not know’ or did not complete this specific question and are not represented in the table.