ArticleJournal of the American College of Surgeons2019
Patient Satisfaction and Pain Control Using an Opioid-Sparing Postoperative Pathway.
Article in Journal of the American College of Surgeons, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 33 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.
STandard Versus No Opioid Prescription After Prolapse and Anti-INcontinence Surgery: A Randomized Controlled, Non-inferiority Trial
Using Difference-in-Differences to Evaluate the Effect of a Statewide Quality Improvement Program on New Persistent Opioid Use After Surgery
Assessing Perceived Quality of Care With Differing Pain Management Protocols After Outpatient Otolaryngology Procedures
A Prospective Pilot Study of a Non-Narcotic Post-Operative Course After Colectomy
Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain - United States, 2022.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2022Guideline
- A Novel Hemostatic Belt Allowing Ambulation Soon After Atrial Fibrillation Ablation.Journal of cardiovascular translational research · 2023Trial
- Perioperative care for patients with opioid exposure and opioid use disorder: screening and treatment strategies.Current opinion in anaesthesiology · 2026Review
- Post-Thyroidectomy Opioid Prescription and Risk of Persistent Opioid Use: A Propensity Matched Cohort Study.Head & neck · 2025Article
- Reducing pain and opioid use: Implementation of an enhanced recovery pathway for percutaneous nephrolithotomy with an erector spinae plane block.Current urology · 2025Article
- Postoperative Opioid Prescription Size and Patient-reported Consumption Following Gender-affirming Mastectomy: A Prospective Survey Study.Plastic and reconstructive surgery. Global open · 2025Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on Opioid Prescribing, Consumption, Pain, and Outcomes after Surgery.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2025Article
- Epidemiology of Opioid Prescribing After Discharge From Surgical Procedures Among Adults.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Pain Control and Satisfaction With Peripheral Nerve Blocks for Upper Extremity Surgery.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2024Article
- Factors associated with use of opioid rescue medication after surgery.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2024Observational
- Perioperative Opioid-Related Harms: Opportunities to Minimize Risk.Seminars in plastic surgery · 2024Review
- Use of Opioid-Sparing Protocols and Perceived Postpartum Pain in Patients with Opioid Use Disorder and Chronic Prenatal Opioid Exposure.Maternal and child health journal · 2023Article
- Prescription Opioids and Patient-Reported Outcomes and Satisfaction After Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery.Hand (New York, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Improving pain management and safe opioid use after surgery: A DMAIC-based quality intervention.Surgery open science · 2023Article
- Postoperative Opioid Prescribing and New Persistent Opioid Use: The Risk of Excessive Prescribing.Annals of surgery · 2023Article
- The NOpioid Project: a prospective observational feasibility study examining the implementation of a non-narcotic post-operative pain control regimen.Surgical endoscopy · 2022Observational
- Opioid use after uro-oncologic surgeries in time of opioid crisis.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2022Article
- Opioid and benzodiazepine prescribing after COVID-19 hospitalization.Journal of hospital medicine · 2022Article
- Utilization of a National Registry to influence opioid prescribing behavior after hernia repair.Hernia : the journal of hernias and abdominal wall surgery · 2022Article
- Tips and tricks in achieving zero peri-operative opioid used in onco-urologic surgery.World journal of urology · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundOpioids are overprescribed after surgical procedures, leading to dependence and diversion into the community. This can be mitigated by evidence-based prescribing practices. We investigated the feasibility of an opioid-sparing pain management strategy after surgical procedures. STUDY
designPatients undergoing 6 procedures were offered the opportunity to participate in an opioid-sparing pain management pathway. Patients were advised to use acetaminophen and ibuprofen, and were provided with a small "rescue" opioid prescription for breakthrough pain. They were then surveyed postoperatively about opioid use and patient-reported outcomes measures. Overall cohort characteristics and differences between opioid users and non-users were analyzed.
resultsA total of 190 patients were analyzed. Median prescription size was 5 (interquartile range [IQR] 4 to 6) pills and opioid use was 0 (IQR 0 to 4) pills. Fifty-two percent of patients used no opioids after procedures. Median number of leftover pills was 2 (IQR 0 to 5). Median pain score was 1 (IQR 1 to 2) and satisfaction score was 10 (IQR 8 to 10). Almost all (91%) patients agreed that their pain was manageable. Patients who used opioids were younger (52 ± 14 vs 59 ± 13 years; p = 0.001), reported higher pain scores (2 [IQR 1 to 2] vs 1 [1 to 2]; p = 0.014), received larger rescue prescriptions (6 ± 3 vs 4 ± 4 pills; p = 0.003), and were less likely to agree that their pain was manageable (82% vs 98%; p = 0.001). There were no other significant differences between opioid users and non-users.
conclusionsPatients reported minimal or no opioid use after implementation of an opioid-sparing pathway, and still reported high satisfaction and pain control. These results demonstrate the effectiveness and acceptability of major reduction and even elimination of opioids after discharge from minor surgical procedures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.