Presurgical controlled substance use predicts postoperative complications, increased readmissions, and mortality. We aimed to examine if a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) would detect underreported controlled substance use in patients undergoing liver transplant evaluation. We performed a retrospective cohort study at a tertiary referral center of patients undergoing liver transplant evaluation in 2017. PDMP reviews were performed on all 360 patients and urine drug screen (UDS) results were reviewed when available to evaluate dispensed controlled substances. These results were compared to the patient's self-reported medication list at evaluation to identify any underreporting. The primary outcome was the number of self-reported controlled substance discrepancies on the medication list identified by PDMP and UDS at the time of evaluation. Among the 360 patients, 87 (24%) had a discrepancy where PDMP revealed a controlled substance prescription that the patient did not report on their medication list. Seventy-seven (67/87) of these discrepancies involved opiates. Of the 360 patients, 219 (61%) had a negative UDS, but 70 (32%) of these patients had at least one controlled substance listed on PDMP. PDMP is a promising screening tool when used in conjunction with the UDS for detecting underreported controlled substance use in liver transplant candidates.
Keywords: alcoholism and substance abuse; allied health/nursing; anesthesia/pain management; clinical research/practice; health services and outcomes research; liver disease; liver transplantation/hepatology; liver transplantation: auxiliary; patient safety; recipient selection.
© 2019 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.