As a part of the broader research into pharmacotherapy safety and effectiveness during pregnancy, research from Professor Carlos Grijalva, MD, Research Associate Professor Margaret Adgent, PhD, Assistant Professor Ashley Leech, PhD, and Assistant Professor Andrew Wiese PhD, MPH have explored risk factors for developing opioid use disorders and opioid-related overdoses and death among women pregnant patients prescribed opioids after birth.
In addition, work by Drs. Grijalva and Wiese contributed to a multi-site FDA funded project to provide a nationally representative characterization of risk factors and the short and long-term incidence of opioid-related overdoses and death among all individuals initiating a long-acting opioid analgesic. In the last 10 years, Drs. Grijalva and Wiese, in collaboration with Professors Marie Griffin, MD and William Schaffner, MD have also characterized the risk of serious infections associated with opioid analgesic use in a series of studies, including one that was the first to identify prescription opioid use as an independent risk factor invasive pneumococcal disease, a serious illness caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
Other studies led by Dr. Leech and Stephen Patrick, MD, MPH, FAACP, have added new knowledge about risk factors for women of reproductive age, especially those who suffer from opioid use disorder. Two studies used creative methods, similar to a “secret shopper” method that randomly assigned female callers an insurance status scenario and had them seek an appointment for either buprenorphine, a medically effective treatment for opioid use disorder, and/or an opioid-treatment program in different areas of the U.S.
This research has highlights varied responses from providers in different U.S. states and specific geographic areas that policy makers could address to improve access and equity for women seeking treatment both before, during, and after pregnancy.