Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33892825›Full record

ArticleJournal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-faciale2021

Chronic opioid use following surgery for head and neck cancer patients undergoing free flap reconstruction.

Ashley Hinther, Alysha Rasool, Steven C Nakoneshny, Shamir P Chandarana, Robert Hart, T Wayne Matthews, Joseph C Dort

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of otolaryngology - head & neck surgery = Le Journal d'oto-rhino-laryngologie et de chirurgie cervico-faciale, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Unveiling Prescribing Patterns: A Systematic Review of Chronic Opioid Prescriptions After Head and Neck Cancer Surgeries.Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Association Between Opioid-Related Mortality and History of Surgical Procedure: A Population-Based Case-Control Study.Annals of surgery open : perspectives of surgical history, education, and clinical approaches · 2024
    Article
  4. Article
  5. A retrospective analysis of pain and opioid usage in head and neck free flap reconstruction.World journal of otorhinolaryngology - head and neck surgery · 2023
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Psychological Survivorship in Head and Neck Cancer.Seminars in plastic surgery · 2023
    Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Ashley HintherDepartment of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, HRIC 2A02 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Alysha RasoolDepartment of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, HRIC 2A02 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Steven C NakoneshnyOhlson Research Initiative, Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Shamir P ChandaranaDepartment of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, HRIC 2A02 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Robert HartDepartment of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, HRIC 2A02 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
T Wayne MatthewsDepartment of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, HRIC 2A02 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada.
Joseph C DortDepartment of Surgery, Section of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, HRIC 2A02 3280 Hospital Dr NW, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 4Z6, Canada. jdort@ucalgary.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0858-187X
University of Calgary · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhysician opioid-prescribing patterns have significant impacts on the current opioid crisis. Patients who use opioids in the postoperative period are at risk of developing chronic postoperative opioid use. This study determined the rate of chronic postoperative opioid use among head and neck cancer patients undergoing primary surgery with free-flap reconstruction. Additionally, this study identified major risk factors associated with the development of chronic postoperative opioid use.

methodsA retrospective chart review was performed for all adults (age ≥ 18 years) undergoing primary head and neck surgical resection with free-flap reconstruction between January 2008 and December 2015. Patients were identified from a prospectively collected database, Otobase™. Data from the provincial drug insurance program were used to capture drug dispensing information to determine chronic opioid use at 3- and 12-months postoperatively. Data extracted from Otobase™ included patient demographics, social habits, clinical stage, pathological stage, type of surgery, and adjuvant treatment.

resultsThe total cohort was comprised of 212 patients. Chronic opioid use at 3- and 12- months postoperatively was observed in 136 (64%) and 116 (55%) patients, respectively. Of the 212 patients, 85 patients (40%) were identified as preoperative opioid users and 127 were opioid naïve (60%). Of the 85 patients who were preoperative opioid users, 70 (82%) and 63 (77%) patients continued to use opioids 3- and 12-months postoperatively, respectively. The proportion of opioid-naïve patients who were using opioids at 3- and 12-months postoperatively was 52% (66 patients) and 42% (53 patients), respectively. Identified risk factors included preoperative opioid use, prior tobacco use, advanced pathologic T-stage, and adjuvant treatment.

conclusionsAmong head and neck cancer patients that have undergone major resection with free-flap reconstruction, the prevalence of chronic postoperative opioid users was considerable. Identified risk factors included preoperative opioid use, prior tobacco use, tumor stage, and adjuvant treatment.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsAnalgesics, OpioidChronic PainFemaleFree Tissue FlapsHead and Neck NeoplasmsHumansLogistic ModelsMaleMiddle AgedPlastic Surgery ProceduresPostoperative PainRetrospective StudiesAnalgesics, OpioidHead and neck surgeryOpioidsPostoperative opioid usePostoperative pain

Identifiers

PMID33892825
PMCPMC8066487
OpenAlexW3154744162

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.