After outpatient surgery, adverse events are not more common with postoperative opioid use than without opioid use, according to research published in the American Journal of Surgery.
Researchers used the VA corporate data warehouse to determine opioid use following outpatient surgery and chart-reviewed cases from a larger study.
The key details to know:
1. Out of 1,730 outpatient surgeries, 36 percent involved postoperative opioid use and 12 percent experience an adverse event.
2. Opioid use after outpatient surgery was not associated with higher adverse event rates.
3. Complex procedures may be a greater factor in surgical adverse events than postoperative opioids.
