PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Oh, Tak Kyu
AU  - Song, In-Ae
TI  - The Impact of Opioid Prescription on the Occurrence and Outcome of Pneumonia: A Nationwide Cohort Study in South Korea
AID  - 10.4187/respcare.11870
DP  - 2024 Jun 25
TA  - Respiratory Care
PG  - respcare.11870
4099  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2024/06/25/respcare.11870.short
4100  - http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/early/2024/06/25/respcare.11870.full
AB  - BACKGROUND: Opioids are known to cause respiratory depression, aspiration, and to suppress the immune system. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between short- and long-term opioid use and the occurrence and clinical outcomes of pneumonia in South Korea.METHODS: The data for this population-based retrospective cohort analysis were obtained from the South Korean National Health Insurance Service. The opioid user group consisted of those prescribed opioids in 2016, while the non-user group, who did not receive opioid prescriptions that year, was selected using a 1:1 stratified random sampling method. The opioid users were categorized into short-term (1–89 d) and long-term (≥90 d) users. The primary end point was pneumonia incidence from January 1, 2017–December 31, 2021, with secondary end points including pneumonia-related hospitalizations and mortality rates during the study period.RESULTS: In total, 4,556,606 adults were enrolled (opioid group, 2,070,039). Opioid users had a 3% higher risk of pneumonia and an 11% higher risk of pneumonia requiring hospitalization compared to non-users. Short-term users had a 3% higher risk of pneumonia, and long-term users had a 4% higher risk compared to non-users (P &amp;lt; .001). Additionally, short-term users had an 8% higher risk of hospital-treated pneumonia, and long-term users had a 17% higher risk compared to non-users (P &amp;lt; .001).CONCLUSIONS: Both short- and long-term opioid prescriptions were associated with higher incidences of pneumonia and hospital-treated pneumonia. In addition, long-term opioid prescriptions were linked to higher mortality rates due to pneumonia.