Utilization and evolving prescribing practice of opioid and non‐opioid analgesics in patients undergoing lymphadenectomy for cutaneous malignancy

Background and Objectives Opioids are commonly prescribed following surgery and can lead to persistent opioid use. We assessed changes in prescribing practices following an opioid education initiative for patients undergoing lymphadenectomy for cutaneous malignancy. Methods A single‐institution retrospective study of all eligible patients (3/2016–3/2020) was performed. Results Indications for lymphadenectomy in 328 patients were metastatic melanoma (84%), squamous cell carcinoma (10%), and Merkel cell carcinoma (5%). At discharge, non‐opioid analgesics were increasingly utilized over the 4‐year study period, with dramatic increases after education initiatives (32%, 42%, 59%, and 79% of pts, respectively each year; p