Patients who receive chronic opioids before spine surgery are less likely to be satisfied one-year postoperatively and are more likely to experience 90-day complications regardless of dosage, according to a study in Spine.
Here are three things to know:
1. The study comprised 2,128 patients who underwent elective spine surgery between 2010 and 2017. Of these patients, 21 percent underwent preoperative chronic opioid treatment.
2. Chronic preoperative opioid use was associated with significantly greater odds of not achieving improvements in extremity pain, axial pain, function and quality of life.
3. High preoperative opioid dosage was associated with postoperative chronic opioid use. Both preoperative chronic opioid therapy and high preoperative dosage were independently associated with postoperative use.