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Michigan OPEN
Michigan OPEN
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Publications (Old)

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

Preoperative Opioid Use and Readmissions Following Surgery

Tang R, Santosa KB, Vu JV, et al. Preoperative Opioid Use and Readmissions Following Surgery [published online ahead of print, 2020 Mar 13]. Ann Surg. 2020;10.1097/SLA.0000000000003827. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000003827
  • Among the Medicare patient population who undergo elective surgery, 55% were opioid naïve while the remaining 45% filled one or more opioid prescriptions in the 12 months before surgery.
  • Higher levels of preoperative opioid exposure were associated with higher rates of opioid-related readmissions, pain-related readmissions, respiratory-related readmissions, and all-cause readmissions.

Classifying Preoperative Opioid Use for Surgical Care

Vu JV, Cron DC, Lee JS, et al. Classifying Preoperative Opioid Use for Surgical Care. Ann Surg. 2020;271(6):1080-1086. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000003109
  • Preoperative opioid use is common among patients who undergo elective surgery, with 38% filling an opioid prescription in the 12 months before surgery.
  • Even minimal opioid use before surgery increases the probability of needing additional postoperative prescriptions in the 30 days after surgery.