Pediatric surgeon opioid prescribing behavior: A survey of the American Pediatric Surgery Association membership
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In brief
In brief
Survey of 327 APSA members reveals that 83% prescribe opioids within standard ranges for common pediatric procedures, with 88% incorporating nonopioid alternatives. However, significant gaps exist in opioid safety practices: only 25% routinely check prescription monitoring programs and 64% don't counsel on disposal.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Abstract
Background
The opioid crisis has led to increasing numbers of overdose fatalities in teens and young adults. Surgery, as a common cause of acute pain in children, drives much of the opioid prescribing in pediatrics. Therefore, we sought to characterize opioid prescribing practices of pediatric surgeons by surveying members of the American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA).
Study design
After receiving approval from our institutional review board, we sent an online survey to the entire APSA membership. The survey included four vignettes of common pediatric surgical procedures with questions regarding analgesic prescribing practices, the rationale for these practices, and knowledge about opioid risk mitigation.
Results
Of 1127 APSA members contacted, 327 (29%) provided survey responses. For all vignettes, opioid prescribing was within standard ranges for 83% of respondents. Eighty-eight percent of respondents prescribed nonopioid pain medicine. Additionally, 25% reported routinely utilizing a prescription drug monitoring program, 64% did not tell patients how to dispose of opioids, and 37% did not know themselves how to dispose of leftover opioids.
Conclusions
Prescribing by APSA surgeons is largely within standard ranges, but improvement is needed, particularly regarding opioid disposal. Procedure-specific consensus guidelines for opioid prescribing and opioid risk mitigation strategies are warranted.
Level of evidence
Observational study, level III.