New persistent opioid use among older patients following surgery: A Medicare claims analysis

• Among opioid naïve Medicare patients who underwent major or minor surgery, 9.8% developed new persistent opioid use.
• Modifiable factors were: filled a preoperative opioid, received ≥300 OMEs of opioids in the perioperative period, filled prescriptions for a benzodiazepine, sedative, hypnotic, or anxiolytic within 90 days before surgery.
• High risk prescribing, including filling overlapping opioid prescriptions, having a concurrent benzodiazepine prescription, new receipt of long-acting opioids for acute postsurgical pain, and opioid doses of ≥100 OME, was associated with an increased risk for new persistent opioid use.

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Santosa KB, Hu HM, Brummett CM, et al. New persistent opioid use among older patients following surgery: A Medicare claims analysis. Surgery. 2020;167(4):732-742. doi:10.1016/j.surg.2019.04.016