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Abstract
Previous research suggests that racial disparities in the report of analgesic adverse
effects are partially mediated by the type of opioid prescribed to African Americans
despite the presence of certain comorbidities, such as renal disease. We aimed to
identify independent predictors of the type of opioid prescribed to cancer outpatients
and determine if race and chronic kidney disease (CKD) independently predict prescription
type, adjusting for relevant sociodemographic and clinical confounders. We conducted
secondary analysis of a 3-month observational study. Cancer patients (N=241) were
from outpatient oncology clinics within a large mid-Atlantic healthcare system. Patients
were older than 18 years of age, self-identified as African Americans or Whites, and
had an analgesic prescription for cancer pain. Consistent with published literature,
most patients (75.5%) were prescribed either morphine or oxycodone preparations as
oral opioid therapy for cancer pain. When compared to Whites, African Americans were
significantly more likely to be prescribed morphine (14% vs. 33%) and less likely
to be prescribed oxycodone (64% vs. 38%, respectively, p<0.001). The estimated odds
for African Americans to receive morphine were 2.573 times that for Whites (95% CI
= 1.077 and 6.145) after controlling for insurance type, income, and pain levels.
In addition, presence of private health insurance was negatively associated with the
prescription of morphine and positively associated with prescription of oxycodone
in separate multivariable models. Presence of CKD did not predict type of analgesic
prescribed. Both race and insurance type independently predict type of opioid selection
for cancer outpatients. Future larger clinical studies are needed to fully understand
the sources and clinical consequences of racial differences in opioid selection for
cancer pain.