A Descriptive Analysis of Postpartum Visit Completion Among Patients With Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) [ID 1291]

INTRODUCTION: Opioid use during pregnancy has had a 131% increase from 2010 to 2017. Previous studies have focused on the postpartum period as it is a time of increased medication for opioid use disorder (OUD) discontinuation, relapse, and overdose. This study assesses postpartum follow-up visit (PPV) completion rates and the demographic and clinical factors affecting these rates in an urban clinic setting. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients delivering at Tampa General Hospital between 2019 and 2022 with a documented OUD diagnosis from clinics with integrated inpatient and outpatient electronic medical records (EMRs). The primary outcome was PPV completion, identified through EMR. Secondary outcomes included depression screening using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and stratification by active opioid use and recovery status. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests were used for analysis. RESULTS: Of the 196 patients, 63.78% (125/196) did not complete their PPV. Most were non-Hispanic White (77.04%) and insured through Medicaid (79.08%). Depression screening with the EPDS was positive in 32.14% of patients. Patients actively using opioids were significantly less likely to attend visits (21.28%) compared to nonusers (40.94%) ( P =.014). Patients in remission and those on medication-assisted treatment had higher completion rates (45.24% and 35.71%, respectively), but neither of these was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The overall PPV completion rate for OUD patients was low at 36.22%. Active opioid use was shown to potentially hinder PPV completion, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to enhance postpartum care and support for this vulnerable population.