Pediatric Post‐Tonsillectomy Opioid Prescribing Practices

Objective To evaluate the effect of discharge order sets on prescribing patterns of opioids after pediatric tonsillectomy. Secondary outcomes included encounters for postoperative pain, dehydration, and bleeding. Methods Retrospective chart review of pre‐ and post‐intervention in pediatric post‐tonsillectomy patients, 0–18 years old (n = 1486). Order sets were installed with age‐specific analgesic medication defaults and recommendation of concurrent alternating scheduled ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Time‐balanced pre‐ and post‐intervention cohorts were established. Opioid outcomes calculated in morphine milligram equivalents per kilogram (MME/kg) per dosage and total prescribed. Results Discharge order set intervention resulted in 17% reduction of opioid dose prescribed (0.095 MME/kg [95% CI, 0.092–0.099] vs. 0.079 [95% CI, 0.076–0.083], P