Opioid prescribing to US children and young adults in 2019.
Chua K-P, Brummett CM, Conti RM, et al. Opioid prescribing to US children and young adults in 2019. Pediatrics. 2021;148(3):e2021051539. doi:10.1542/peds.2021-051539.
Despite public policies and guidelines to reduce opioid prescribing, providers continue to overprescribe these medications to children, adolescents, and young adults. In this analysis of US retail pharmacy data, 3.5% of US children and young adults were dispensed at least one opioid prescription; nearly half of those included at least one factor indicating they were high risk. Consistent with prior research, dentists and surgeons were the most frequent prescribers, writing 61% of all opiate prescriptions.