Orhurhu V, et al. - In view of an observed increase in abuse, misuse, and diversion of prescription opioid medications in recent years, researchers examined the trends in changing rates of opioid use disorder (OUD) among patients with chronic pain who are at an increased risk for opioid misuse or OUD. Using the National Inpatient Sample database, they identified 10.3 million patients with chronic pain; OUD was diagnosed in 680,631 of these patients. The analysis revealed an increase in the number of patients with OUD from 109,222 in 2011 to 172,680 in 2015. Similarly, females, patients 65 to 84 years of age, Medicare-insured patients, patients with low annual household incomes, and patients with cannabinoid use disorder showed upward trends of OUD.