65 Pain Management Practices in the Elderly Patient with Burn Injury

Abstract Introduction Opioids are key to pain management in burns but have increased side effects like falls and delirium in the elderly. However, comorbidities prevalent in this population (e.g., chronic kidney disease) limit use of non-opioid adjuncts, making pain control for these patients a difficult balance. Little data exists regarding pain control practices in elderly burn patients. We aim to retrospectively characterize pain management strategies (including opioids and non-opioid adjuncts) in this patient population. Methods This is a retrospective cohort of patients age >65 with burns < 20% total body surface area (TBSA) admitted to the burn stepdown unit from 2014 to 2019. The primary outcome was to quantify opioid use inpatient and at discharge in morphine milligram equivalents (MME). Secondary outcomes included percent of patients receiving opioids and adjunct analgesics at these timepoints. Mean MME inpatient vs. at discharge were compared using paired t-test. Percent of patients receiving opioids and non-opioid adjuncts were compared using McNemar’s test. Results One hundred elderly patients (mean age 73.9, SD 6.7) with mean TBSA of 5.6% (SD 4.5) were included. Fifty-two percent required autografting; the remainder received porcine or non-operative therapy. Mean daily inpatient MME was 18.0 (SD 20.8) and mean discharge MME was 28.0 (SD 20.5) (p=.001), equivalent to 12mg and 18.5mg of oral oxycodone. Inpatient, 72% of patients received opioids vs. 83% at discharge (p=.041). Acetaminophen was the most commonly prescribed non-opioid adjunct inpatient and at discharge; other adjuncts like non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and gabanoids were infrequently used. Conclusions Elderly burn patients are discharged with more opioids than utilized while inpatient. Aside from acetaminophen, non-opioid adjuncts used commonly in younger patients such as NSAIDs and gabanoid medications are under-utilized, presumably due to concern for comorbidities.