Provider Education leads to Sustained Reduction in Pediatric Opioid Prescribing After Surgery
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Read the article on jpedsurg.org ↗Article · Aug 2021 · 1 min read
In brief
In brief
Multi-center study demonstrates that provider education achieved sustained 70% reduction in postoperative opioid prescribing for pediatric umbilical hernia repair patients one year after intervention, with no adverse outcomes. Results support educational interventions as effective strategy for reducing household opioid exposure in surgical populations.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Background
The majority of opioid overdose admissions in pediatric patients are associated with prescription opioids. Post-operative prescriptions are an addressable source of opioids in the household. This study aims to assess for sustained reduction in opioid prescribing after implementation of provider-based education at nine centers.
Methods
Opioid prescribing information was collected for pediatric patients undergoing umbilical hernia repair at nine centers between December 2018 and January 2019, one year after the start of an education intervention. This was compared to prescribing patterns in the immediate pre- and post-intervention periods at each of the nine centers.
Results
In the current study period, 29/127 (22.8%) patients received opioid prescriptions (median 8 doses) following surgery. There were no medication refills, emergency department returns or readmissions related to the procedure. There was sustained reduction in opioid prescribing compared to pre-intervention (22.8% vs 75.8% of patients, p