Characteristics of medical inpatients with acute pain and suspected non-medical use of opioids

Objective The purpose of this study was to characterize medical inpatients with acute pain suspected of non‐medical opioid use. Method Medical inpatients treated with opioids for acute pain referred for psychiatric consultation were administered questionnaires including the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Pain Patients (SOAPP) and the Hospital Misuse Checklist (HMC), developed for this study. Results The nine subjects referred for evaluation of possible non‐medical opioid use, compared to the 23 subjects referred for other reasons, were younger (37.7 vs. 51.3, t = 2.81, p = .012), more likely to score positive on the SOAPP (100% vs. 47.8%, Fisher's p