Program Improves Use of Chronic Opioid Therapy in HIV Care

THURSDAY, Aug. 27, 2020 (HealthDay News) — The TEACH (Targeting Effective Analgesia in Clinics for HIV) intervention is a promising strategy for improving adherence to opioid prescribing guidelines among HIV care providers and their patients on chronic opioid therapy (COT), according to a study published online July 22 in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Jeffrey H. Samet, M.D., from the Boston Medical Center, and colleagues randomly assigned 41 providers at safety-net hospital-based HIV clinics in Boston and Atlanta and 187 of their patients on COT to either the TEACH intervention or usual care.

The researchers found that at 12 months, the TEACH intervention arm had higher odds of two or more urine drug tests than the usual care arm (71 versus 20 percent; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 13.38; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 5.85 to 30.60; P < 0.0001). No statistically significant differences were observed in early refills (21.6 versus 30.4 percent; aOR, 0.55; 95 percent CI, 0.26 to 1.15; P = 0.11), pain severity (6.30 versus 5.76; adjusted mean difference, 0.10; 95 percent CI, −1.56 to 1.75; P = 0.91), or HIV viral load suppression (86.9 versus 82.1 percent; aOR, 1.21; 95 percent CI, 0.47 to 3.09; P = 0.69) for the TEACH intervention arm compared with the usual care arm, respectively.

“It’s important to make sure that all providers have access to the tools and resources necessary for them to confidently provide chronic opioid therapy when treating patients with HIV and chronic pain while also working to prevent opioid misuse,” Samet said in a statement.

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