![Major Opioid Prescriptions Stem From Select Surgical Procedures Major Opioid Prescriptions Stem From Select Surgical Procedures](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/crucial-gene-explains-how-tolerance.jpg)
‘Among adults aged 18-44, #cesareansections represent the largest portion of #opioids dispensed post-surgery (19%), followed by hysterectomies (7%) and knee arthroscopies (6%).’
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Among those ages 45-64, four of the top five procedures were orthopedic procedures, collectively accounting for 27% of total opioid prescriptions dispensed after surgery. Focus on Targeted Surgical Procedures for Safe Opioid Prescribing
"Our findings suggest that surgical opioid prescribing is highly concentrated among a small group of procedures. Efforts to ensure safe and appropriate surgical opioid prescribing should focus on these procedures," said Kao-Ping Chua, lead author of the study in Pediatrics, assistant professor at the U-M Medical School and School of Public Health, and co-director of the Research and Data Domain at the U-M Opioid Research Institute.To conduct the study, the researchers developed an algorithm to identify 1,082 major surgical procedures using procedure codes, a medical classification tool used to identify specific surgical, medical or diagnostic interventions. The algorithm was then applied to identify privately and publicly insured children and adults undergoing surgery from Dec. 1, 2020 through Nov. 30, 2021.
The information was organized through a novel system developed by the study team, which allowed them to connect different sets of data that had previously been seen as unrelated. This new method allows for improved comparability and contrast, according to lead investigators.
In addition to determining which procedures accounted for the highest shares of opioids, the researchers also examined the size of opioid prescriptions for each procedure. For many procedures, prescriptions were far larger than the amount patients typically need for a particular procedure.
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Reference:
- Epidemiology of Opioid Prescribing After Discharge From Surgical Procedures Among Adults - (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2820373)