A study from the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Medicine found that patients prescribed opioids after surgery have a higher risk of readmission and death.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued clinical practice guidelines for prescribing opioid analgesics for patients with moderate to severe postoperative pain, stating that use of opioid analgesics at discharge may increase risk of readmission and death. suggested that there is a sex. .
An analysis conducted by the university using hospital authority records from 2000 to 2020 for a total of 438,128 patients found that of all patients who underwent surgery, 32,932 were prescribed opioids. , it was found that 405,196 people were not prescribed a prescription.
The emergency department visit rate for patients prescribed opioids was 12.6 percent, 4 percentage points higher.
The mortality rate was 0.6 percentage points higher.
Opioid use can also lead to patient dependence and long-term opioid use.
Carlos Wong Kin-ho, assistant professor emeritus of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, said the findings highlight the impact of opioid drugs on pain management after patients are discharged from the hospital.
Opioid use increases the likelihood of health care utilization and worsens clinical outcomes, highlighting the need to improve the use of opioid medications.
Despite the side effects of opioid drugs, Brian Lan Hung-hing, professor of surgery at the Li Shufan Medical Foundation, said they can still be an option for postoperative pain management.
“To reduce the risk of developing opioid dependence or dependence, patients should consider alternative pain management strategies such as non-opioid pain medications, physical therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as discuss their benefits with their doctors and weigh their benefits.” “We can work together to develop a considered plan. Before resorting to the use of opioids, we need to administer painkillers to counter the associated risks,” he said.
