Editor's Note In this study, patients in teaching hospitals in Michigan received significantly larger postoperative opioid prescriptions and had higher rates of high-risk prescribing compared with nonteaching hospitals in the state. The amount of opioid prescribed in initial opioid prescriptions varied 4.7-fold across hospitals, from 130 to 616 oral morphine…

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Editor's Note Excessive opioid prescribing was associated with higher postoperative opioid consumption in this study. In this analysis of 2,392 surgical patients, the quantity of opioids prescribed was significantly higher than opioid consumption, with patients reporting using only 27% of the opioids prescribed to them. Prescription size had the strongest…

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Editor's Note Becoming more sensitive to pain (ie, pain sensitization) is an important risk factor for developing persistent knee pain in osteoarthritis, this study finds. Researchers followed 852 patients over 2 years who had or were at risk of knee osteoarthritis but were free of persistent pain at the beginning…

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Editor's Note Mastectomy patients treated with a new long-acting pain medication were able to be discharged the same day of surgery with a reduced need for opioids in this study presented October 23 at the American College of Surgeons 2018 Clinical Congress in Boston. A total of 100 mastectomy patients…

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Editor's Note A treatment protocol that sends patients home after colorectal surgery without any opioids, resulted in shorter hospital length of stay (LOS) in this study presented October 22 at the American College of Surgeons 2018 Clinical Congress in Boston. The Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol included: patient education about…

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Editor's Notes Though obese adults often report more postoperative pain, the same was not true for obese children in this study presented October 16 at the Anesthesiology 2018 annual meeting in San Francisco. In this analysis of 808 children who had noncardiac surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, pain was assessed…

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Editor's Note Despite concerns about addiction and side effects of opioids, patients still expect them to be prescribed and believe them to be the most effective for postoperative pain relief, finds this study presented October 13 at the Anesthesiology 2018 annual meeting in San Francisco. Researchers gave a 13-question survey…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on August 28 issued a new Quick Safety advisory that focuses on evidenced-based, nonopioid and nonpharmacologic treatment options for pain. Among the options: behavioral/cognitive/psychological interventions (ie, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation) environmental-based interventions (ie, lighting alterations, music therapy) physical interventions (ie, acupuncture, massage therapy, spinal manipulation)…

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Editor's Note Interventions at the physician or organizational level (eg, workflow changes) were found to be better tools for creating change in postoperative opioid prescribing than interventions at the patient level (eg, patient education), in this review. This analysis of eight studies published after 2000 that included 2,272 patients found…

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Editor's Note Preliminary data, reported August 15, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that drug overdose mortality in the US hit record high levels last year, increasing to more than 72,000 deaths. The increase in mortality was driven mainly by fatalities involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.…

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