Opioid consumption after operations: alarming numbers from Austria!

Opioid consumption after operations: alarming numbers from Austria!

An alarming study on the use of opioids after operations in Austria shows that 1.7 % of the patients are still dependent on these analgesic medication months after interventions. The Medical University of Vienna, which led the investigation, found that this group shows continued consumption, despite the fact that acute postoperative pain usually no longer exists. These results confirm an already known problem that comes from the USA, where up to seven percent of patients develop continuing opioid dependencies after surgical interventions.

interventions and risks

The analysis included data from over 559,000 patients who went through around 642,000 operations between 2016 and 2021. Interestingly, the highest proportion of persistent consumption was on spinal operations, in which 6.8 % of the patients continue to take opioids after the procedure. In other interventions such as joint replacement and abdominal wall breaking operations, an increased risk was also determined. These critical findings were recently published in the journal "Jama Network Open" and illustrate the need for preventive measures, especially for risk groups.

Another central result of the study is that factors such as age, pre -existing chronic pain and psychiatric diseases significantly increase the risk of continued opioid consumption. Patients who have already taken opioids before the operation and have only interrupted consumption for the procedure are particularly at risk. According to Oliver Kimberger, the study manager, these risk factors in postoperative pain management should be taken into account in order to reduce the risk of opioid dependencies. These findings are crucial for the support of less painful and risk-pregnant recovery after operations, as well as ots.at