MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
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Dr. Kelley-Quon[/caption]
Lorraine Kelley-Quon, MD, MSHS, FAAP
Assistant Professor | Division of Pediatric Surgery
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Department of Surgery & Preventive Medicine
Keck School of Medicine of USC
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Prescription opioids are pharmacologically similar to heroin, and previous research has shown an association between nonmedical opioid use and heroin use.
This is the first study to follow a group of teenagers through all 4 years of high school and identify an association between nonmedical prescription opioid use and later heroin use.