Just a Few Surgeries Make Up Most Post-Op Opioid Prescriptions [Video]

Key Takeaways

A handful of common surgeries account for most opioid pain prescriptionsResearchers say efforts to ensure safe surgical prescribing should focus on theseMany people with opioid use disorder began using the drugs after surgery

WEDNESDAY, July 3, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Opioid addiction often starts with a prescription for post-surgery pain relief, and two new studies identify a handful of procedures that account for large shares of those prescriptions.

The findings were published recently in two major medical journals.

“Our findings suggest that surgical opioid prescribing is highly concentrated among a small group of procedures,” said Dr. Kao-Ping Chua of the University of Michigan Opioid Research Institute, lead author of a study published in Pediatrics. “Efforts to ensure safe and appropriate surgical opioid prescribing should focus on these procedures.”

With opioidaddiction a growing problem in the United States, many surgeons encourage patients to rely on other pain-relievers such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like …