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Opioid Prescribing and Use After Pediatric Umbilical Hernia Repair
Matthew L Lee1, Lauren B Camp1,2, Mehul V Raval3
14285 Division of Pediatric Surgery, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA.
Insights
Physician education on opioid stewardship significantly reduced opioid prescribing and filled prescriptions for pediatric umbilical hernia repair. This approach improved pain control without increasing adverse events.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Pain Management
- Opioid Stewardship
Background:
- Opioid overuse is a significant concern in both pediatric and adult populations.
- Physician education can enhance appropriate opioid prescribing and patient guidance.
- This study evaluated opioid prescribing and use for pediatric umbilical hernia repair before and after surgeon education.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of surgeon education on opioid prescribing patterns for pediatric umbilical hernia repair.
- To evaluate patient prescription filling behaviors and parent-reported pain control post-education.
- To determine if education influences adverse events related to opioid use.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective analysis of pediatric patients undergoing umbilical hernia repair.
- Comparison of prescribing practices 6 months before and after an educational intervention on opioid use.
- Assessment of prescription fills, medication use, pain control effectiveness, and adverse events.
Main Results:
- Opioid prescription rates decreased from 98.7% to 61.6% post-education (P < .0001).
- Nonopioid prescriptions increased (P = .0063), and filled opioid prescriptions decreased (P = .0296).
- The post-education group reported good pain control with no increase in adverse events.
Conclusions:
- Surgeon education effectively improves opioid prescribing and stewardship in pediatric surgery.
- Educational interventions can reduce opioid use without compromising patient pain control or outcomes.
- This strategy addresses the opioid epidemic by promoting safer pain management practices.
Background:
Opioid overuse is a concern in adult and pediatric populations. Physician education may improve appropriate opioid prescribing and patient instruction for use. Prescribing and use of opioids for pain control after pediatric umbilical hernia (UH) repair before and after surgeon education was evaluated. This is a substudy of a multi-institutional study assessing prescribing practice before and after surgeon education. This study further assessed patient prescription filling patterns and parent report of pain control.
Methods:
A retrospective study was performed evaluating children who underwent UH 6 months before and after an educational presentation on opioid use. Prescriptions, prescription fills, patient medication use, and pain control effectiveness were assessed. Adverse events were collected.
Results:
There were 78 subjects in the pre-education and 99 in the post-education group. Opioid prescribed changed from 98.7% to 61.6% (P < .0001), and nonopioid prescriptions increased following education (P = .0063). The number of opioid prescriptions filled decreased (P = .0296). There were limited data on opioid doses used and quality of pain control, but the post-education group showed good pain control. There was no difference in adverse events.
Discussion:
Surgeon education on the current opioid epidemic and strategies for opioid stewardship improves opioid prescribing and use without adversely impacting pain control or clinical outcome.
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