Publications
OPEN examines data, clinical practices and strategies to support better pain management, opioid stewardship, policy, treatment and care.
New Persistent Opioid Use Among Patients with Cancer After Curative-Intent Surgery
Lee JS, Hu HM, Edelman AL, et al. New Persistent Opioid Use Among Patients With Cancer After Curative-Intent Surgery. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35(36):4042-4049. doi:10.1200/JCO.2017.74.1363- 4% of cancer patients not on opioids prior to a curative-intent surgery fill prescriptions at daily doses similar to chronic opioid users one year after surgery.
- New persistent opioid use in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy is consistently higher than in those with no chemotherapy across different procedures.
- Changing prescribing guidelines and patient counseling in the surveillance and survivorship phases of care may reduce new persistent opioid use among cancer patients after surgery.
New Persistent Opioid Use After Minor and Major Surgical Procedures in US Adults
Brummett CM, Waljee JF, Goesling J, et al. New Persistent Opioid Use After Minor and Major Surgical Procedures in US Adults. JAMA Surg. 2017;152(6):e170504. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2017.0504- New persistent opioid use after surgery is common, with approximately 6% of patients who were not on opioids before surgery continuing to use opioids more than 3 months after surgery.
- Patients continue to use their opioids for reasons other than the pain from surgery.
- New persistent opioid use after surgery is an underappreciated surgical complication that warrants increased attention.