Photo Credit: robertprzybysz
The following is a summary of “Cornea specialists are the highest opioid prescribers at a large academic eye institute in the USA,” published in the March 2025 issue of BMJ Open Ophthalmology by Boychev et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to analyze opioid prescription patterns across ophthalmic subspecialties at a large academic eye center.
They reviewed electronic medical records from 2018, including individuals (≥18 years) receiving ophthalmologic care. The primary outcomes analyzed were demographics, outpatient opioid prescriptions, ophthalmic procedures, and prescriber details, including department affiliation and training level.
The results showed that 1,654 opioid prescriptions were issued, representing 2.2% of all ophthalmic procedures in 1 year. Among those prescribed, 51.4% were female (n=851), with a mean age of 52.3±18.5 years (range 18–95 years). The average morphine equivalent dose was low, with 12.4±6.75 pills dispensed (range 1–60) and 0.0±0.01 refills (range 0–3). Cornea specialists accounted for the highest proportion of prescriptions (22.7%), followed by oculoplastics (22.2%) and retina specialists (18.4%). Cornea crosslinking was the most common procedure associated with opioid prescriptions (14.3%).
Investigators concluded that while overall opioid prescribing was low for ophthalmic procedures, cornea specialists and particularly patients with crosslinking corneal exhibited a significantly higher rate.
Source: bmjophth.bmj.com/content/10/1/e002012
