Most patients think they'll be prescribed opioids and consider opioids to be the best form of pain relief after surgery, according to a study presented at Anesthesiology 2018, Oct. 13-17 in San Francisco.
Researchers gave a 13-question survey to 503 adults scheduled to have back, ENT, abdomen, hip replacement or knee replacement surgery.
Here are seven findings:
1. All 503 respondents said they expected to receive pain medication after surgery.
2. Seventy-seven percent of respondents expected opioids, such as morphine, fentanyl and dilaudid. Ninety-four percent of patients expecting opioids thought they would be effective.
3. Thirty-seven percent expected acetaminophen, such as Tylenol. Of those patients, 35.6 percent thought the acetaminophen would be effective.
4. Eighteen percent expected a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, such as Motrin. About 53.1 percent of those patients thought NSAIDs would be effective.
5. Even among patients who didn't expect to receive opioids, 67.5 percent thought they would be effective.
6. Lead study author and Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University Hospital anesthesia resident Nirmal B. Shah, DO, said because patients perceive opioids as superior, they may pressure physicians to prescribe them after surgery. The findings underscore a need to educate patients about alternative effective options for post-surgical pain relief, she said.
7. Patient perceptions are largely contradicted by the findings of a second study presented, which found opioids led to increased pain, decreased quality of life and dependence after back surgery. The second study's results were based on an analysis of nine papers assessing opioid use for pain management after spinal fusion procedures.