Abstract
Background
Opioid analgesics are overprescribed after surgery. In August 2018, the authors replaced routine discharge opioid prescription with a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for patients who had a lumpectomy or excisional biopsy (lump/ex). This study compared patient-reported post-discharge pain scores for patients treated before and after the change in routine discharge medication.
Methods
Patients were categorized based on treatment before and after a change in discharge medication as follows: study period 1 (routine opioids), study period 2 (routine NSAID). Pain severity was assessed with an electronic survey on postoperative days (PODs) 1 to 5. Multivariable generalized estimating equations tested the association between pain severity and discharge in the first versus the second study period.
Results
Lump/ex was performed for 1606 patients between December 2017 and June 2019. Of these patients, 789 (49%) reported pain scores and were analyzed (328 in study period 1, 461 in study period 2). Opioid prescription at discharge decreased from 96% in period 1 to 14% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11–18%) in period 2. Only 1% of the patients discharged with NSAID were later prescribed an opioid. The maximum reported pain score on any POD for all the patients was severe for 30 patients (3.8%), moderate for 217 patients (28%), mild for 430 patients (54%), and none for 112 patients (14%). The estimated risk for moderate or greater pain on POD 1 was 36% for period 1 and 34% for period 2. The proportion of patients reporting moderate or greater pain was nonsignificantly lower for the patients treated in period 2 (odds ratio [OR], 0.91; 95% CI 0.67–1.22; P = 0.5).
Conclusions
For patients undergoing lump/ex, a clinically meaningful difference in reported post-discharge pain scores can be excluded with a change to routine NSAID at discharge. Patients undergoing lump/ex should not be routinely discharged with opioids.
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Acknowledgments
The preparation of this study was supported in part by NIH/NCI Cancer Center Support Grant No. P30 CA008748 to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Internal Diversity Enhancement Award.
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Dr. Monica Morrow has received speaking honoraria from Genomic Health. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest.
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Accepted for presentation in oral format at the Society of Surgical Oncology 2020 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care.
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Moo, TA., Assel, M., Yeahia, R. et al. Routine Opioid Prescriptions Are Not Necessary After Breast Excisional Biopsy or Lumpectomy Procedures. Ann Surg Oncol 28, 303–309 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-020-08651-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1245/s10434-020-08651-y