Opioids Are Prescribed to Only Small Proportion of Pediatric Surgery Patients

Sutyak KM, Jayarajan N, Young Y, et al. Surgery and Pain Relief: A Closer Look at Opioid Prescription Trends. Surgery. 2024.

This article reported data from a single-institution retrospective chart review that investigated post-discharge opioid prescribing patterns in pediatric patients following establishment of an opioid stewardship program.

Opioid prescriptions were provided to patients who had been hospitalized for care of burns, traumatic injuries, and pectus excavatum repairs; other conditions such as appendicitis, hernia repair, and circumcision were managed with non-opioid agents.

The authors noted that opioid prescriptions had decreased by 5% after the stewardship program began. Data from 4323 patients cared for over a 2-year interval were analyzed; opioid prescriptions were provided at discharge in 9% of patients. The data showed that the median number of prescribed opioid doses was 13 and that a total of 87% of opioid prescriptions were filled.

Data on adequacy of pain control were not reported. The authors concluded that opioid prescriptions were provided to a small proportion of pediatric patients who received treatment by surgeons. A significant number of prescriptions were never filled. Additional research is necessary to improve accuracy of opioid prescribing and optimize pain control in pediatric patients.