New persistent opioid use after surgery is common and is not significantly different between minor and major surgical procedures but rather associated with behavioral and pain disorders. This suggests its use is not due to surgical pain but addressable patient-level predictors. New persistent opioid use represents a common but previously underappreciated surgical complication that warrants increased awareness.
Persistent opioid use after surgery is a concern among adolescents and young adults and may represent an important pathway to prescription opioid misuse. Identifying safe, evidence-based practices for pain management is a top priority, particularly among at-risk patients.
IMPORTANCE There is growing evidence that opioids are overprescribed following surgery. Improving prescribing requires understanding factors associated with opioid consumption. OBJECTIVE To describe opioid prescribing and consumption for a variety of surgical procedures and determine factors associated with opioid consumption after surgery. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A retrospective, population-based analysis of the quantity of opioids prescribed and patient-reported opioid consumption across 33 health systems in Michigan, using a sample of adults 18 years and older undergoing surgery. Patients were included if they were prescribed an opioid after surgery. Surgical procedures took place between January 1, 2017, and September 30, 2017, and were included if they were performed in at least 25 patients. EXPOSURES Opioid prescription size in the initial postoperative prescription. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Patient-reported opioid consumption in oral morphine equivalents. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate risk-adjusted opioid consumption with robust standard errors. RESULTS In this study, 2392 patients (mean age, 55 years; 1353 women [57%]) underwent 1 of 12 surgical procedures. Overall, the quantity of opioid prescribed was significantly higher than patient-reported opioid consumption (median, 30 pills; IQR, 27-45 pills of hydrocodone/acetaminophen, 5/325 mg, vs 9 pills; IQR, 1-25 pills; P < .001). The quantity of opioid prescribed had the strongest association with patient-reported opioid consumption, with patients using 0.53 more pills (95% CI, 0.40-0.65; P < .001) for every additional pill prescribed. Patient-reported pain in the week after surgery was also significantly associated with consumption but not as strongly as prescription size. Compared with patients reporting no pain, patients used a mean (SD) 9 (1) more pills if they reported moderate pain and 16 (2) more pills if they reported severe pain (P < .001). Other significant risk factors included history of tobacco use, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, age, procedure type, and inpatient surgery status. After adjusting for these risk factors, patients in the lowest quintile of opioid prescribing had significantly lower mean (SD) opioid consumption compared with those in the highest quintile (5 [2] pills vs 37 [3] pills; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE The quantity of opioid prescribed is associated with higher patient-reported opioid consumption. Using patient-reported opioid consumption to develop better prescribing practices is an important step in combating the opioid epidemic.
Purpose The current epidemic of prescription opioid misuse has increased scrutiny of postoperative opioid prescribing. Some 6% to 8% of opioid-naïve patients undergoing noncancer procedures develop new persistent opioid use; however, it is unknown if a similar risk applies to patients with cancer. We sought to define the risk of new persistent opioid use after curative-intent surgery, identify risk factors, and describe changes in daily opioid dose over time after surgery. Methods Using a national data set of insurance claims, we identified patients with cancer undergoing curative-intent surgery from 2010 to 2014. We included melanoma, breast, colorectal, lung, esophageal, and hepato-pancreato-biliary/gastric cancer. Primary outcomes were new persistent opioid use (opioid-naïve patients who continued filling opioid prescriptions 90 to 180 days after surgery) and daily opioid dose (evaluated monthly during the year after surgery). Logistic regression was used to identify risk factors for new persistent opioid use. Results A total of 68,463 eligible patients underwent curative-intent surgery and filled opioid prescriptions. Among opioid-naïve patients, the risk of new persistent opioid use was 10.4% (95% CI, 10.1% to 10.7%). One year after surgery, these patients continued filling prescriptions with daily doses similar to chronic opioid users ( P = .05), equivalent to six tablets per day of 5-mg hydrocodone. Those receiving adjuvant chemotherapy had modestly higher doses ( P = .002), but patients with no chemotherapy still had doses equivalent to five tablets per day of 5-mg hydrocodone. Across different procedures, the covariate-adjusted risk of new persistent opioid use in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy was 15% to 21%, compared with 7% to 11% for those with no chemotherapy. Conclusion New persistent opioid use is a common iatrogenic complication in patients with cancer undergoing curative-intent surgery. This problem requires changes to prescribing guidelines and patient counseling during the surveillance and survivorship phases of care.
ing dual antiplatelet therapy) had had AT medication temporarily stopped in preparation for surgery and were therefore excluded from the study. The remaining 93 patients continued their normal AT regimen through surgery. There were 69 patients taking aspirin, 7 taking warfarin, 9 taking clopidogrel, 1 taking dabigatran, 3 taking warfarin plus aspirin, and 4 taking dual antiplatelet therapy. Patients treated with AT agents were older than the control group (mean, 66.1 years vs 56.9 years; P < .001). They were also more likely to be male (96.8% vs 84.4%; P = .002), diabetic (55.9% vs 22.9%; P < .001), and nonsmokers (82.8% vs 71.7%; P = .04). Average preoperative median nerve motor latencies at the wrist did not differ significantly between the AT user and non-AT user groups (6.9 milliseconds vs 6.7 milliseconds; P = .44), nor did the rate of intraoperative tourniquet use (32% vs 56% for AT user and nonuser groups, respectively; P = .22). Estimated blood loss was higher in the no-tourniquet group for both AT users (4.33 mL vs 3.22 mL; P = .02) and non-AT users (4.21 mL vs 3.13 mL; P = .006). Mean operating time was shorter in the no-tourniquet group for both those treated with AT agents (20.1 minutes vs 25.7 minutes; P = .001) and those not treated with AT agents (22.40 minutes vs 24.52 minutes; P = .13). There was no statistical difference in EBL (3.94 mL vs 3.89 mL; P = .87) or operative time (22.0 minutes vs 23.0 minutes; P = .38) in AT and non-AT patient groups overall. Rates of postoperative complications were similar between the AT group and the non-AT group (5.4% vs 4.9%; P > .99). No hematomas or neurological complications were reported, and no patients required reoperation during the study period. Overall, 91.8% of patients reported improvement of symptoms postoperatively, with a mean follow-up time of 3.3 months (Table).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.