TY - JOUR
T1 - Trends in opioid prescriptions after laparoscopic sterilization
AU - Arabkhazaeli, Moona
AU - Umeh, Genevieve
AU - Khaksari, Bijan J.
AU - Sanchez, Lauren
AU - Xie, Xianhong
AU - Plewniak, Kari
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by SLS, Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons. Published by the Society of Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgeons.
PY - 2021/1/1
Y1 - 2021/1/1
N2 - Background and Objectives: Examine trends in opioid prescriptions after laparoscopic sterilization over time, and identify any individual patient, provider, or procedural factors influencing prescribing. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort analysis of laparoscopic sterilizations between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019 at Montefiore Medical Center. A review of the medical records was performed and infor-mation on patient demographics, comorbid conditions, and surgical characteristics were collected. The number of opioid pills prescribed postoperatively and any pain related patient calls, visits, or refills was recorded. Results: Between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019, 615 laparoscopic sterilizations were performed. The median number of opioid pills prescribed was 10, rang-ing from 0 to 40. There was a significant decrease in the number of opioid pills prescribed (p < .0001) and refill incidence (p < .001) over time. Patients with a docu-mented diagnosis of pelvic pain received significantly more opioid pills (p = .02), as did patients who underwent tubal occlusion versus salpingectomy (p = .01). There was no association between the number of opioid pills prescribed and other patient or procedural character-istics. Finally, the number of pills prescribed was not associated with urgent patient contact (p = .34). Conclusions: The overall number of opioid pills prescribed after laparoscopic sterilization decreased at our institution over time, which paralleled a decrease in refills and urgent postoperative patient contact. Further, few clinical characteristics influenced postoperative prescribing and there was no association between number of pills prescribed and urgent patient contact. These findings suggest excess prescribing and highlight the need to identify and adopt an evidenced-based approach to post-surgical opioid prescriptions.
AB - Background and Objectives: Examine trends in opioid prescriptions after laparoscopic sterilization over time, and identify any individual patient, provider, or procedural factors influencing prescribing. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort analysis of laparoscopic sterilizations between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019 at Montefiore Medical Center. A review of the medical records was performed and infor-mation on patient demographics, comorbid conditions, and surgical characteristics were collected. The number of opioid pills prescribed postoperatively and any pain related patient calls, visits, or refills was recorded. Results: Between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2019, 615 laparoscopic sterilizations were performed. The median number of opioid pills prescribed was 10, rang-ing from 0 to 40. There was a significant decrease in the number of opioid pills prescribed (p < .0001) and refill incidence (p < .001) over time. Patients with a docu-mented diagnosis of pelvic pain received significantly more opioid pills (p = .02), as did patients who underwent tubal occlusion versus salpingectomy (p = .01). There was no association between the number of opioid pills prescribed and other patient or procedural character-istics. Finally, the number of pills prescribed was not associated with urgent patient contact (p = .34). Conclusions: The overall number of opioid pills prescribed after laparoscopic sterilization decreased at our institution over time, which paralleled a decrease in refills and urgent postoperative patient contact. Further, few clinical characteristics influenced postoperative prescribing and there was no association between number of pills prescribed and urgent patient contact. These findings suggest excess prescribing and highlight the need to identify and adopt an evidenced-based approach to post-surgical opioid prescriptions.
KW - Pain
KW - Postoperative
KW - Prescription Drug Misuse
KW - Sterilization
KW - Tubal
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U2 - 10.4293/JSLS.2020.00088
DO - 10.4293/JSLS.2020.00088
M3 - Article
C2 - 33880000
AN - SCOPUS:85105152267
SN - 1086-8089
VL - 25
JO - Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons
JF - Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons
IS - 1
M1 - e2020.00088
ER -