Preoperative opioid use and postoperative pain associated with surgical readmissions

The extent of preoperative opioid utilization and the relationship with pain-related readmissions are not well understood. VA Surgical Quality Improvement Program data on general, vascular, and orthopedic surgeries (2007–2014) were merged with pharmacy data to evaluate preoperative opioid use and pain-related readmissions. Opioid use in the 6-month preoperative period was categorized as none, infrequent, frequent, and daily. In the six-month preoperative period, 65.7% had no opioid use, 16.7% had infrequent use, 6.3% frequent use, and 11.4% were daily opioid users. Adjusted odds of pain-related readmission were higher for opioid-exposed groups vs the opioid-naïve group: infrequent (OR 1.17; 95% CI:1.04–1.31), frequent (OR 1.28; 95% CI:1.08–1.52), and daily (OR 1.49; 95% CI:1.27–1.74). Among preoperative opioid users, those with a pain-related readmission had higher daily preoperative oral morphine equivalents (mean 44.5 vs. 36.1, p