Opioids for Pain After Ophthalmic Surgery Linked to Higher Hospitalization, Overdose

Objective: To assess the relationship between opioid prescriptions following elective ophthalmic surgery and episodes of opioid overdose, postoperative hospitalization, opioid dependence, and all-cause mortality. Design: Retrospective cohort study using de-identified medical claims from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse to define a cohort of adult patients who underwent ophthalmic surgery between 2016 and 2022. Methods: Subjects with a prior history of opioid dependence or overdose were excluded. Subjects were classified based on the prescription of an opioid medication linked to the ophthalmic surgery. In addition, subjects were classified as opioid-naïve if there was no prior record of an opioid prescription in the database. Finally, the dose of surgery-associated opioid prescriptions was classified based on morphine-equivalent dosage. Data for opioid-related hospitalization, overdose episodes, subsequent diagnosis of opioid abuse, and all-cause mortality were also available. Stati more...