Prescription Opioid Analgesics Commonly Unused After Surgery: A Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Prescription opioid analgesics play an important role in the treatment of postoperative pain; however, unused opioids may be diverted for nonmedical use and contribute to opioid-related injuries and deaths.

Objective

To quantify how commonly postoperative prescription opioids are unused, why they remain unused, and what practices are followed regarding their storage and disposal.

Evidence review

MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from database inception to October 18, 2016, for studies describing opioid oversupply for adults after a surgical procedure. The primary outcome-opioid oversupply-was defined as the number of patients with either filled but unused opioid prescriptions or unfilled opioid prescriptions.

SUBMITTER: Bicket MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5701659 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature