Patient factors tied to postop opioid consumption

Editor's Note

In this study of opioid-naïve patients having major surgery, researchers found a number of patient characteristics associated with greater opioid use in the first month after surgery.

Of 1,181 patients analyzed, the following were significantly associated with increased postoperative opioid consumption:

• younger age
• nonwhite race
• lack of college degree
• higher anxiety
• greater sleep disturbance
• heavy alcohol use
• current tobacco use
• larger initial opioid prescription size.

Future studies should look at the use of nonopioid drugs and behavioral therapies preoperatively in these higher-risk patients, the researchers say.