934 - Chronic Use of Prescription Pain Medication and Outcomes in Patients with Burn Injury: A Burn Model System National Database Study

Objectives: Prescription pain medication is commonly used to manage pain after burn injury. However, little is known about long-term prescription pain medication use after burn injury and its association with functional outcomes.

Design: This study utilizes the Burn Model System (BMS) National Database funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). This multi-center retrospective cohort study examines two groups from August 2015 to July 2021: patients living with burn injury taking and not taking prescription pain medication at 12 months. Regression analyses adjusting for age, gender, race, ethnicity, burn size, hospital stay length, and pre-injury pain medication use examined associations between prescription pain medication use and functional outcomes. Primary outcome measures collected were the VR-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary (PCS and MCS) along with secondary functional outcome scores and demographic information.

Results: Of 358 patients, 12.3% reported pain medication use prior to their injury. At discharge. 77.7% reported use of prescription pain medication use, with 94.6% of these patients discharged with an opioid medication. At 12 months, 41.5% of individuals reported prescription pain medication use. Analyses demonstrated an association with prescription pain medication use at 12 months and worsened functional outcomes: decreased MCS (p< 0.001) and PCS (p< 0.001) scores, increased PROMIS Depression (p< 0.001), Anxiety (p< 0.001), and Pain Interference (p< 0.001) scores. The prescription pain medication group also scored on average 2.16 points higher on PROMIS Pain Intensity ratings and were 52% less likely to be employed at 12 months. SWLS was not significantly associated with pain medication use (p=0.065).

Conclusions: There is a significant association with prescription pain medication use and worsened physical, mental, and employment outcomes at 12 months. These results should inform clinical screening and examination of outcomes related to pain medication use in this population.