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More and more Americans may have opioids for their pets and veterinarians seem to prescribe more and more powerful versions of these drugs to animals, suggests a small study.
The researchers examined data on opioid tablets and patches delivered or prescribed by 134 veterinarians at a Philadelphia Small Animal University Hospital from 2007 to 2017. Over the decade, the amount of opioids used for creatures like rabbits, birds and reptiles jumped 41% even though hospital visits only increased by 13%.
"We have no way of knowing if any of these prescriptions were obtained by the pet owner on his own, and most probably have not been." said Dr. Jeanmarie Perrone, senior author of the study, a toxicologist from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
"However, the risk to humans is that opioid prescriptions left to animals end up in the same medicine cabinets as other opioids, which creates risks of misuse by teenagers or unintentional exposures in children, which can be life-threatening, "Perrone said via e-mail.
The study included 366,468 pet visits to the animal hospital. During these visits, veterinarians prescribed a total of 105.2 million tramadol tablets, over 97,000 hydrocodone tablets, nearly 39,000 codeine tablets and 3,153 fentanyl patches.
Most were for dogs
Dogs consumed the most drugs (73%), followed by cats (22.5%) and exotic animals (4.5%).
A major factor contributing to the growing opioid crisis in the United States is the increasing availability of these drugs, which addicts often receive from their friends or relatives when they can not get a prescription, noted researchers in JAMA. Network Open.
Although medical and dental providers are the main source of these opioids, this study suggests that veterinary prescriptions could also be part of the problem, they write.
Veterinarians and veterinary clinics may be registered with the US Enforcement Drug Administration. In many states, veterinarians may prescribe, store and administer opioids without the same reporting requirements as those in many outlets.
According to the authors of the study, only 20 states require veterinarians to report the prescription of opioids, as doctors do, to a registry designed to limit abuse.
Pennsylvania is one of many states with no reporting requirements, and the findings of the study could reflect what is happening in other states without registers to help combat abuse, declared Perrone.
Dr. Lee Newman, a researcher at the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, does not know if the increase in prescriptions in Pennsylvania could be due to an increased willingness to better manage pain in pets and pets. the growing number of people with addiction problems trying to get veterinary drugs, or both.
Presumed switch
"It's a speculation on my part, but it could be that when a human patient stops receiving an opioid prescription from his doctor, he then turns to the vet to try to get hold of it." drugs, "said Newman, who was not involved in the study, by email.
Although the study suggests that prescription of opioids in veterinarians represents only a small fraction of the overall prescription of opioids in the country, it also suggests that veterinary practices could be a neglected part of the problem, said Kirk Evoy, badistant professor at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin and the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio.
"This study shows that it is another potential source of opioid access that many clinicians and policymakers may not be thinking of in their efforts to reduce the risk of developing opioids." epidemic of opioid abuse in the country, "said Evoy,
involved in the study, said by email.
"In addition, while the prescription of human opioids has begun to stabilize in recent years in response to the epidemic of opioids, these data seem to indicate that, at least in the hospital Specifically studied, the prescription of opioids for animals has continued to increase, "said Evoy. I said.
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