Observational studyAnesthesia and analgesia2017
Opioid Prescribing for the Treatment of Acute Pain in Children on Hospital Discharge.
Observational study in Anesthesia and analgesia, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 40 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Randomized Clinical Trial of Non-Opioid Pain Medications After Adenotonsillectomy
Use of a Non-Opioid Pain Regimen for Post-Operative Analgesia Following Intracapsular Adenotonsillectomy
Post-operative Course of Dexamethasone to Reduce Tonsillectomy Morbidity
Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Potential for Harm Associated with Discharge Opioids After Hospital Stay: A Systematic Review.Drugs · 2020Pooled it
- Opioid Analgesia Following Pediatric Adenotonsillectomy: A Randomized Clinical Trial.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Trial
- Single-dose Intraoperative Methadone for Pain Management in Pediatric Tonsillectomy: A Randomized Double-blind Clinical Trial.Anesthesiology · 2024Trial
- A Risk Education Program Decreases Leftover Prescription Opioid Retention: An RCT.American journal of preventive medicine · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Safety Assessment of Perioperative Pain Medications for Children: Variation in Opioid Prescribing at Discharge.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2026Article
- Intoxication in Children From Opioids Prescribed to Family Members.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Prior adolescent oxycodone exposure enhances pain sensitivity following chronic intermittent ethanol in adult female mice.Physiology & behavior · 2025Article
- Association of Opioid Disposal Practices with Parental Education and a Home Opioid Disposal Kit Following Pediatric Ambulatory Surgery.Anesthesia and analgesia · 2025Article
- Article
- Factors Associated with Postoperative Opioid Use in Adolescents.Journal of pediatric surgery · 2024Article
- Pain during the first year after scoliosis surgery in adolescents, an exploratory, prospective cohort study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2024Article
- Prescription Opioid Use for Adolescents With Neurocognitive Disability Undergoing Surgery: A Pilot Study.The Journal of surgical research · 2023Article
- Impact of state legislation and institutional protocols on opioid prescribing practices following pediatric tonsillectomy.Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology · 2023Article
- Annual Prevalence of Opioid Receipt by South Carolina Medicaid-Enrolled Children and Adolescents: 2000-2020.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Clinical and Demographic Factors Associated with Receiving an Opioid Prescription following Admission to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Factors Associated With Safe Prescription Opioid Disposal After Surgery in Adolescents.The Journal of surgical research · 2022Article
- Design and implementation of a novel patient-centered empowerment approach for pain optimisation in children undergoing major surgery.BMJ open quality · 2022Article
- Evaluating Providers' Prescription Opioid Instructions to Pediatric Patients.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Trends in Routine Opioid Dispensing After Common Pediatric Surgeries in the United States: 2014-2019.Pediatrics · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe epidemic of nonmedical use of prescription opioids has been fueled by the availability of legitimately prescribed unconsumed opioids. The aim of this study was to better understand the contribution of prescriptions written for pediatric patients to this problem by quantifying how much opioid is dispensed and consumed to manage pain after hospital discharge, and whether leftover opioid is appropriately disposed of. Our secondary aim was to explore the association of patient factors with opioid dispensing, consumption, and medication remaining on completion of therapy.
methodsUsing a scripted 10-minute interview, parents of 343 pediatric inpatients (98% postoperative) treated at a university children's hospital were questioned within 48 hours and 10 to 14 days after discharge to determine amount of opioid prescribed and consumed, duration of treatment, and disposition of unconsumed opioid. Multivariable linear regression was used to examine predictors of opioid prescribing, consumption, and doses remaining.
resultsMedian number of opioid doses dispensed was 43 (interquartile range, 30-85 doses), and median duration of therapy was 4 days (interquartile range, 1-8 days). Children who underwent orthopedic or Nuss surgery consumed 25.42 (95% confidence interval, 19.16-31.68) more doses than those who underwent other types of surgery (P < .001), and number of doses consumed was positively associated with higher discharge pain scores (P = .032). Overall, 58% (95% confidence interval, 54%-63%) of doses dispensed were not consumed, and the strongest predictor of number of doses remaining was doses dispensed (P < .001). Nineteen percent of families were informed how to dispose of leftover opioid, but only 4% (8 of 211) did so.
conclusionsPediatric providers frequently prescribed more opioid than needed to treat pain. This unconsumed opioid may contribute to the epidemic of nonmedical use of prescription opioids. Our findings underscore the need for further research to develop evidence-based opioid prescribing guidelines for physicians treating acute pain in children.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.