National Long-Term Trends in Postoperative Opioid Prescribing in Ambulatory Urology Procedures

With more than 60% of urological procedures performed in ambulatory settings, it is imperative to understand the current trends in postoperative narcotic prescriptions and their adherence to the guidelines. We studied postoperative opioid-prescribing patterns after selected common urology ambulatory procedures.

A retrospective cohort was derived from a 10% random sample of enrollees within the IQVIA PharMetrics Plus for Academics database from 2015 to 2021. Patient-level baseline characteristics were collected in the year preceding the index date. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were used to compare patient characteristics from opioid and nonopioid cohorts and those who utilized opioids ≤ 7 days and > 7 days postprocedurally. Trends of opioid and nonopioid use were also investigated and compared.

Between 2015 to 2021, 17,817 patients underwent urological ambulatory procedures, of which the majority (90.9%) were endoscopic procedures. Of those, 4077 (22%) were prescribed opioids and 978 (5.4%) patients were given prescription nonopioid (ie, ketorolac) medication. From 2015 to 2021, there was an overall decrease in prescription of opioids from 32% to 19%. The acute fulfillment (within 7 days of the procedure) of opioids had notably declined; however, there is a slight increase in the fulfillment of opioids beyond 7 days.

Within the 7-day postsurgical period after ambulatory procedures, narcotic prescribing habits among urologists are congruent with current initiatives to reduce narcotic use in the setting of the opioid pandemic. However, beyond the 7-day postsurgical period, further guidelines are needed to guide narcotic prescribing habits.