Older Women and Opioid Analgesia after Breast Cancer Surgery

To explore which factors influence opioid analgesia use in older women during the 48-hour period after hospital discharge following initial breast cancer surgery.

This cross-sectional, descriptive study involved a cohort (n = 57) of older women recruited for a larger study of breast cancer patients.

We gathered patient-reported data pertinent to perioperative and post-discharge pain control. Data were analyzed using linear regression to explore those characteristics that had the greatest influence on the amount of post-discharge opioid analgesia required.

After hospital discharge, 29 older women (51%) with breast cancer avoided opioid analgesia for various reasons. The number of prescribed opioid tablets each woman self-administered determined the total dosage of analgesia required 48 hours post-discharge.

The majority of this sample of older women with early-stage breast cancer experienced adequate pain relief after surgery and required little or no postoperative or postdischarge opioid analgesia. Optimization of the pain control experience for older women with breast cancer requires thorough pain assessment from diagnosis through survivorship through the end of life. This can be achieved by equipping women in this population to advocate for their pain control needs in real time. Future studies that elucidate preferences, beliefs, and current pain control practices before, during, and after breast cancer surgery will improve safety and efficacy of pain control for this fast-growing population.