Research reveals racial disparity in postoperative pain management

Editor's Note

Black patients are less likely to receive multimodal analgesia and more likely to be given additional oral opioids compared to white patients, according to research presented at the Anesthesiology 2024 annual meeting.

According to an October 20 report on the retrospective study from the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Black patients were 29% less likely to receive a combination of four pain medications, while they were 74% more likely to be prescribed oral opioids along with intravenous opioids than white patients. Researchers analyzed data from 2,942 patients (2,460 white and 482 Black) treated in the ICU within the first 24 hours after surgery at a single institution between 2016 and 2021. race remained a factor despite controlling for variables like insurance, age, and underlying health conditions.

Multimodal analgesia, defined as the use of opioids plus at least one additional pain medication like local anesthetics, NSAIDs, IV ketamine, or oral gabapentin, is recommended for managing pain while reducing opioid use, especially in high-risk surgeries like lung, abdominal cancer, and hernia surgeries, the article notes. This practice has been shown to improve pain outcomes with fewer side effects. Researchers cite the need for further investigation into the reasons behind these disparities, which may include patient preferences, pain reporting, or potential provider bias, as well as whether similar disparities affect other ethnic groups.