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Health Care Costs and New Persistent Opioid Use After Surgery

  • For patients undergoing major or minor surgery, new persistent use was associated with significantly higher health care spending during the 180 days after surgery.
  • Patients with new persistent opioid use continued to have significantly higher monthly health care spending in contrast to patients who develop other common postoperative complications, in which health care spending returns to baseline by 180 days after surgery.
  • Early identification of patients vulnerable to persistent use may enhance the value of surgical care.


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Lee JS, Vu JV, Edelman AL, et al. Health Care Spending and New Persistent Opioid Use After Surgery. Ann Surg. 2020;272(1):99-104. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000003399