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Michigan OPEN
Michigan OPEN
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OPEN examines data, clinical practices and strategies to support better pain management, opioid stewardship, policy, treatment and care.

Persistent Opioid Use Among Pediatric Patients After Surgery

Harbaugh CM, Lee JS, Hu HM, et al. Persistent Opioid Use Among Pediatric Patients After Surgery. Pediatrics. 2018;141(1):e20172439. doi:10.1542/peds.2017-2439
  • Rates of new persistent opioid use among pediatric patients are comparable to those for adults, with 4.8% of patients refilling opioid prescriptions between 3 and 6 months after surgery.
  • Cholecystectomy (15.2%) and Colectomy (7.3%) were associated with the highest risk of persistent opioid use.  
  • Patients with persistent opioid use filled additional prescriptions with an average of 200 to 300 OMEs up to 6 months after surgery.