TY - JOUR
T1 - Pediatric surgeon opioid prescribing behavior
T2 - A survey of the American Pediatric Surgery Association membership
AU - Hunsberger, Joann B.
AU - Monitto, Constance L.
AU - Hsu, Aaron
AU - Yenokyan, Gayane
AU - Jelin, Eric
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - Background: The opioid crisis has led to increasing numbers of overdose fatalities in teens and young adults. Surgery, as a common cause of acute pain in children, drives much of the opioid prescribing in pediatrics. Therefore, we sought to characterize opioid prescribing practices of pediatric surgeons by surveying members of the American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA). Study design: After receiving approval from our institutional review board, we sent an online survey to the entire APSA membership. The survey included four vignettes of common pediatric surgical procedures with questions regarding analgesic prescribing practices, the rationale for these practices, and knowledge about opioid risk mitigation. Results: Of 1127 APSA members contacted, 327 (29%) provided survey responses. For all vignettes, opioid prescribing was within standard ranges for 83% of respondents. Eighty-eight percent of respondents prescribed nonopioid pain medicine. Additionally, 25% reported routinely utilizing a prescription drug monitoring program, 64% did not tell patients how to dispose of opioids, and 37% did not know themselves how to dispose of leftover opioids. Conclusions: Prescribing by APSA surgeons is largely within standard ranges, but improvement is needed, particularly regarding opioid disposal. Procedure-specific consensus guidelines for opioid prescribing and opioid risk mitigation strategies are warranted. Level of evidence: Observational study, level III.
AB - Background: The opioid crisis has led to increasing numbers of overdose fatalities in teens and young adults. Surgery, as a common cause of acute pain in children, drives much of the opioid prescribing in pediatrics. Therefore, we sought to characterize opioid prescribing practices of pediatric surgeons by surveying members of the American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA). Study design: After receiving approval from our institutional review board, we sent an online survey to the entire APSA membership. The survey included four vignettes of common pediatric surgical procedures with questions regarding analgesic prescribing practices, the rationale for these practices, and knowledge about opioid risk mitigation. Results: Of 1127 APSA members contacted, 327 (29%) provided survey responses. For all vignettes, opioid prescribing was within standard ranges for 83% of respondents. Eighty-eight percent of respondents prescribed nonopioid pain medicine. Additionally, 25% reported routinely utilizing a prescription drug monitoring program, 64% did not tell patients how to dispose of opioids, and 37% did not know themselves how to dispose of leftover opioids. Conclusions: Prescribing by APSA surgeons is largely within standard ranges, but improvement is needed, particularly regarding opioid disposal. Procedure-specific consensus guidelines for opioid prescribing and opioid risk mitigation strategies are warranted. Level of evidence: Observational study, level III.
KW - Opioid
KW - Pediatric
KW - Postoperative
KW - Prescription
KW - Surgery
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2020.08.022
DO - 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2020.08.022
M3 - Article
C2 - 33039104
AN - SCOPUS:85092252837
SN - 0022-3468
VL - 56
SP - 875
EP - 882
JO - Journal of pediatric surgery
JF - Journal of pediatric surgery
IS - 5
ER -