Probability of Opioid Prescription Refilling After Surgery: Does Initial Prescription Dose Matter?

ABSTRACT:

Objective

We sought to determine the correlation between the probability of postoperative opioid prescription refills and the amount of opioid prescribed, hypothesizing that a greater initial prescription yields a lower probability of refill.

Background

Although current guidelines regarding opioid prescribing largely address chronic opioid use, little is known regarding best practices and postoperative care.

Methods

We analyzed Optum Insight claims data from 2013 to 2014 for opioid-naïve patients aged 18 to 64 years who underwent major or minor surgical procedures (N = 26,520). Our primary outcome was the occurrence of an opioid refill within 30 postoperative days. Our primary explanatory variable was the total oral morphine equivalents provided in the initial postope

SUBMITTER: Sekhri S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7041231 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature