The study, conducted by researchers at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., looked at the effect of prescribed opioids on pneumonia risk in patients with HIV since opioids are often prescribed to these individuals for pain.
The researchers used data from patients treated at a VA facility between 2000 and 2012, including those with and without HIV. The team matched patients hospitalized for pneumonia with similar patients who did not have pneumonia. They examined length of time patients were taking opioids, dosages and whether the medications had known immunosuppressive properties.
Patients prescribed medium or high doses of opioid painkillers had a higher risk for pneumonia than those not taking the medications, the researchers found. The risk was compounded if the opioid contained immunosuppressive properties, and patients with HIV were more likely to develop pneumonia even at low doses of opioids and particularly with immunosuppressive opioids.
The findings could help mitigate this risk and add to the growing list of potential harms linked to opioids, the researchers said.
Providers may consider prescribing lower doses of opioids or opioids that do not suppress the immune system and be proactive about getting patients vaccinated against pneumonia, they added.
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