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Papers of the Week


Papers: 24 Dec 2022 - 30 Dec 2022


2022 Dec 09


J Clin Med


11


24

Opioid Dose, Pain, and Recovery following Abdominal Surgery: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Authors

Chen D, Li X, Chen Y, Zeng H, Liu J, Li Q
J Clin Med. 2022 Dec 09; 11(24).
PMID: 36555937.

Abstract

The optimal dosage for opioids given to patients after surgery for pain management remains controversial. We examined the association of higher post-surgical opioid use with pain relief and recovery. We retrospectively enrolled adult patients who underwent elective abdominal surgery at our hospital between August 2021 and April 2022. Patients were divided into the "high-intensity" or "low-intensity" groups based on their post-surgical opioid use. Generalized estimating equation models were used to assess the associations between pain scores at rest and during movement on days 1, 2, 3, and 5 after surgery as primary outcomes. The self-reported recovery and incidence of adverse events were analyzed as secondary outcomes. Among the 1170 patients in the final analysis, 293 were in the high-intensity group. Patients in the high-intensity group received nearly double the amount of oral morphine equivalents per day compared to those in the low-intensity group (84.52 vs. 43.80), with a mean difference of 40.72 (95% confidence interval (CI0 38.96-42.48, < 0.001) oral morphine equivalents per day. At all timepoints, the high-intensity group reported significantly higher pain scores at rest (difference in means 0.45; 95% CI, 0.32 to 0.58; < 0.001) and during movement (difference in means 0.56; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.71; < 0.001) as well as significantly lower recovery scores (mean difference (MD) -8.65; 95% CI, -10.55 to -6.67; < 0.001). A post hoc analysis found that patients with moderate to severe pain during movement were more likely to receive postoperative high-intensity opioid use. Furthermore, patients in the non-high-intensity group got out of bed sooner (MD 4.31 h; = 0.001), required urine catheters for shorter periods of time (MD 12.26 h; < 0.001), and were hospitalized for shorter periods (MD 1.17 days; < 0.001). The high-intensity group was at a higher risk of chronic postsurgical pain (odds ratio 1.54; 95% CI, 1.14 to 2.08, = 0.005). High-intensity opioid use after elective abdominal surgery may not be sufficient for improving pain management or the quality of recovery compared to non-high-intensity use. Our results strengthen the argument for a multimodal approach that does not rely so heavily on opioids.