Articles: opioid.
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Paediatric anaesthesia · Sep 2023
Outcomes for 41 260 pediatric surgical patients with opioid-free anesthesia: One center's experience.
Opioid use is common and associated with side effects and risks. Consequently, analgesic strategies to reduce opioid utilization have been developed. Regional anesthesia and multimodal strategies are central tenets of enhanced recovery pathways and facilitate reduced perioperative opioid use. Opioid-free anesthesia (OFA) protocols eliminate all intraoperative opioids, reserving opioids for postoperative rescue treatment. Systematic reviews show variable results for OFA. ⋯ These QI projects demonstrated that most pediatric ambulatory and select inpatient surgeries are amenable to OFA techniques which may reduce PONV without worsening pain.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Sep 2023
Supply of opioids and information provided to patients after surgery in an Australian hospital: A cross-sectional study.
Opioids are commonly prescribed to manage pain after surgery. However, excessive supply on discharge can increase patients' risk of persistent opioid use and contribute to the reservoir of unused opioids in the community that may be misused. This study aimed to evaluate the use of opioids in Australian surgical patients after discharge and patient satisfaction with the provision of opioid information after discharge. ⋯ However, the majority (51.5%; 34/66) did not recall receiving any information about the signs of opioid toxicity and interactions between opioids and alcohol. In conclusion, around 40% of patients had more than half of their opioid supply remaining after they ceased taking their opioid. Although most patients recalled receiving information about their opioids, more than half did not recall receiving any information about the signs of opioid toxicity or interactions between opioids and alcohol.