Online article at tctmd/the heart beat
By Yael L. Maxwell
Almost one-tenth of opioid-naïve patients who undergo cardiac surgery will continue to use opioids for at least 90 days, with discharge dosing directly tied to long-term use, according to a new analysis.
The toll of the opioid crisis in recent years has driven the healthcare community to rethink prescribing patterns in order to minimize the likelihood of addiction in patients who need pain management. Yet a Medicare claims study published last year showed that as many as one in eight cardiothoracic surgery patients from 2009 to 2015 continued to take opioids longer than necessary....