Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38817762›Full record

ArticleJournal of hand surgery global online2024

Unplanned Postoperative Phone Calls and Electronic Messages for Patients With and Without Opioid Prescriptions After Carpal Tunnel Release.

Yagiz Ozdag, Shahid Manzar, Jad El Koussaify, Victoria C Garcia, Joel C Klena, Louis C Grandizio

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of hand surgery global online, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Predictors of Unplanned Postoperative Visits in a Veterans Affairs Hand Surgery Practice.Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS · 2026
    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

6 authors.

Yagiz OzdagDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Danville, PA.
Shahid ManzarDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Danville, PA.
Jad El KoussaifyDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Danville, PA.
Victoria C GarciaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Danville, PA.
Joel C KlenaDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Danville, PA.
Louis C GrandizioDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, Danville, PA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of our study was to compare unplanned postoperative patient communication in the form of phone calls and/or electronic patient portal messages (EPPM) after carpal tunnel release (CTR) for patients with and without a postoperative opioid prescription. Methods: We identified all patients ≥18 years of age who underwent primary CTR between 2017 and 2022 without an opioid ordered within 90 days prior to surgery. The following two groups were created: cases with and without an opioid prescribed on the day of surgery. We recorded baseline demographics for all patients and recorded all unplanned communication (phone calls and EPPM) sent from a patient to the surgeon's office within 14 days after surgery. Unadjusted associations between unplanned communication and case characteristics were evaluated. Multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between opioid status and unplanned communication. Results: A total of 5,735 CTRs were included, and 54% of the patients were prescribed an opioid on the day of surgery. Forty-two percent of cases had unplanned postoperative communication, and 48.1% of cases, without an opioid prescription, had unplanned communication compared with 36.8% in the opioid group. Patients who were prescribed opioids were 0.62 times less likely to contact the surgeon's office via phone calls or EPPM (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.56, 0.70). Increased age was associated with a reduction in the odds of unplanned contact (odds ratios [OR] = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93, 0.97), whereas higher body mass index was significantly associated with increased communication (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.09). Conclusions: Patients prescribed opioids after CTR are 0.62 times less likely to contact the surgeon's office after surgery. Considering the 11% increase in unplanned postoperative communication after CTR, surgeons should consider alternative methods that have previously been demonstrated to reduce opioid consumption. Type of study/level of evidence: Prognostic II.

Indexed as

Carpal tunnel releaseCarpal tunnel syndromeHand surgeryOpioidsPostoperative analgesia

Identifiers

PMID38817762
PMCPMC11133893

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Registered trials

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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.