Perioperative outcomes among chronic opioid users who receive lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer

We sought to identify whether chronic opioid users are at increased risk for complications or hospital readmission following lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer.

The National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database was queried to identify patients older than age 65 years who received a lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer. Chronic opioid users were identified through Medicare Part D records and were defined as those with >120 cumulative days of opioid supply for the year before surgery. A systematic 1:2 propensity matching was performed among chronic opioid users.

Six thousand four hundred thirty-seven patients were identified, among whom 3627 (56%) were opioid naïve, 1866 (29%) were intermittent opioid users, and 944 (15%) were chronic opioid users. After propensity matching, 30-day mortality and 90-day mortality were nearly 2-fold higher among chronic opioid users compared with nonchronic users. In addition, length of stay and hospital charges were increased among chronic opioid users (median, 6 vs 7 days and mean increase, $12,526, respectively). Multivariable analysis revealed that intermittent opioid users and chronic opioid users were associated with an increased risk of 90-day hospital readmission compared with opioid-naïve patients (odds ratio, 1.35; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-1.71 and odds ratio, 1.72; 95% confidence interval, 1.40-2.12, respectively), predominantly burdened by infectious, renal, and pulmonary causes.

Patients who chronically use opioids before lobectomy represent high-risk patients. The risk of 30- and 90-day mortality, length of stay, hospital charges, and 90-day readmission after lobectomy among chronic opioid users are substantially elevated.