Common Operations Can Increase Patient’s Risk Of Becoming Addicted To Opioids

HealthDay (7/11) reports several common operations can slightly increase a patient’s risk of becoming addicted to opioids, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers examined the number of opioid prescriptions patients filled before and after 11 common operations in order to determine how many patients became addicted to opioids following surgery.

MedPage Today (7/11, Fiore) reports the 11 procedures that the study focused on were: “total knee arthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, open cholecystectomy, laparoscopic appendectomy, open appendectomy, cesarean delivery, functional endoscopic sinus surgery [FESS], cataract surgery, transurethral prostate resection [TURP], and simple mastectomy.” Researchers found that some of the procedures, including total knee arthroplasty, laparoscopic cholecystectomy [gall bladder removal], and cesarean delivery, increased patients’ risk for becoming addicted to opioids, while there was no increased risk of opioid addiction for patients who underwent “cataract surgery, laparoscopic appendectomy, FESS, and TURP.”

Related Links:

— “Common Surgeries Raise Risk for Opioid Dependence: Study,” HealthDay staff, HealthDay, July , 2016.

Posted in In The News.