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MONDAY, April 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Preoperative chronic opioid use is associated with poor outcomes and continued dependence after posterior lumbar fusion, according to a study published online March 20 in Spine<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Nikhil Jain, M.D., from The Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues used commercial insurance data (from 2007 to Q3-2015) to evaluate preoperative opioid use in 24,610 patients undergoing primary one- and two-level posterior lumbar fusion. The authors also assessed associated 90-day complications, emergency department visits, readmissions, one-year adverse events, and costs.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that 22.3 percent of patients had documented opioid use for more than six months before surgery, and 87.4 percent of these had continued long-term use postoperatively. Preoperative chronic opioid use was associated with higher risk for 90-day wound complications, pain diagnoses, emergency department visits, readmission, and continued postoperative use. Additionally, one year after surgery, long-term opioid users had an increased risk for epidural\/facet joint injections, revision fusion, and new onset constipation.<\/p>\n
“Preoperative chronic opioid therapy is a modifiable risk factor for complications, readmission, adverse events, and increased costs after one- and two-level posterior lumbar fusion,” the authors write.<\/p>\n