Opioid and opioid substitution therapy in liver transplant candidates: A survey of center policies and practices

This national survey sought to determine the practices and policies pertaining to opioid and opioid substitution therapy (OST) use in the selection of liver transplant (LT) candidates. Of 114 centers, 61 (53.5%) responded to the survey, representing 49.2% of the LT volume in 2016. Only two programs...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Clinical transplantation 2017-12, Vol.31 (12), p.n/a
Main Authors: Fleming, James N., Lai, Jennifer C., Te, Helen S., Said, Adnan, Spengler, Erin K., Rogal, Shari S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesics, Opioid - therapeutic use
Health Policy - legislation & jurisprudence
Humans
liver transplantation
Liver Transplantation - ethics
Liver Transplantation - standards
Opiate Substitution Treatment
opioid analgesics
opioid substitution therapy
Patient Selection
Practice Guidelines as Topic - standards
Practice Patterns, Physicians' - ethics
Practice Patterns, Physicians' - standards
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:This national survey sought to determine the practices and policies pertaining to opioid and opioid substitution therapy (OST) use in the selection of liver transplant (LT) candidates. Of 114 centers, 61 (53.5%) responded to the survey, representing 49.2% of the LT volume in 2016. Only two programs considered chronic opioid (1 [1.6%]) or OST use (1 [1.6%]) absolute contraindications to transplant, while 63.9% and 37.7% considered either one a relative contraindication, respectively. The majority of programs did not have a written policy regarding chronic opioid use (73.8%) or OST use (78.7%) in LT candidates. Nearly half (45.9%) of centers agreed that there should be a national consensus policy addressing opioid and OST use. The majority of responding LT centers did not consider opioid or OST use in LT candidates to be absolute contraindications to LT, but there was significant variability in center practices. These surveys also demonstrated a lack of written policies in the assessment of the candidacy of such patients. The results of our survey identify an opportunity to develop a national consensus statement regarding opioid and OST use in LT candidates to bring greater uniformity and equity into the selection of LT candidates.
ISSN:0902-0063
1399-0012
DOI:10.1111/ctr.13119