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Patterns of Initial Opioid Prescribing to Opioid-Naïve Patients

  • The proportion of initial prescriptions for surgery, emergency, and dental care increased by nearly 16% from 2010 to 2016.
  • Dental care prescribing saw the greatest growth, with a 68% increase, while surgical patients received the highest proportion of potent opioids (90.2%).
  • Evidence-based guidelines for surgical and dental prescribing are necessary to curb iatrogenic opioid morbidity and mortality.


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Larach DB, Waljee JF, Hu HM, et al. Patterns of Initial Opioid Prescribing to Opioid-Naive Patients. Ann Surg. 2020;271(2):290-295. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000002969