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Inaccurate self-reporting of preop narcotic use not linked with higher inpatient, postop consumption
Although patients who preoperatively used narcotics before anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, minimally invasive lumbar discectomy or minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion had higher elevated narcotic consumption than opioid-naïve patients during the inpatient phase, this finding did not hold after discharge.
Researchers of this study also found postoperative narcotic use was not associated with the accuracy of self-reported preoperative use.
Researchers included 195 patients in the study who underwent spinal surgery between 2013 and 2014 performed by a single surgeon. Researchers determined the accuracy of self-reported preoperative narcotic use with the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program. In the patient cohort, 25% of patients did not use narcotics preoperatively. Investigators found 47% of patients accurately reported use narcotic use and 28% inaccurately reported their narcotic use.
Compared with opioid-naïve patients, researchers noted patients who preoperatively used narcotics were more likely to have elevated inpatient narcotic consumption. At the first and second postoperative visits, investigators found 29% and 18% of patients, respectively, were dependent on narcotic medications. However, researchers found no difference in dependence by preoperative narcotic use at either visit. After adjusting their findings, investigators also discovered patients who had elevated inpatient narcotic use were not more likely to be narcotic dependent at their first or second postoperative visits.
“We had hypothesized that the inaccurate self-reporting of narcotic utilization may be a risk factor for higher postoperative narcotic consumption. However, inaccurate reporting was not a risk factor for increased inpatient or postoperative narcotic consumption,” researchers wrote in the study.
Researchers concluded the findings suggest corroboration between patients’ self-reported narcotic use and other sources of information can be clinically valuable to determine the best postoperative pain management and to minimize complications. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosures: Ahn reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.