Related Experiment Videos
The economic impact of opioids on postoperative pain management
Beverly K Philip1, Pat Ray Reese, Steven P Burch
1Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Management, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. bphilip@zeus.bwh.harvard.edu
Study Objective:
To evaluate the consequences of opioid use for postoperative pain management and the degree to which these consequences may be reduced or minimized with opioid-sparing or opioid-replacement techniques.
Design:
Literature review relating to the economics of postoperative pain management. Comparisons between opioids and opioid-sparing techniques were identified and selected for study.
Measurements And Main Results:
Studies evaluating overall economic impacts or surrogate outcomes (e.g., resource use or recovery milestones) showed benefits with opioid-sparing therapies.
Conclusions:
Opioids will likely remain an integral part of postoperative pain management, but side effects increase the costs of care. The challenge is to identify situations where opioid-sparing techniques improve surrogate economic measurements and decrease overall hospital costs.