Differences in Need for Opioids After Sinonasal Surgery at Day of Surgery and in the Postoperative Period

Steigerwald L, Schinz K, Sievert M, Mantsopoulos K, Gostian AO, Iro H, Mueller SK (2021)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2021

Journal

Ent-Ear Nose & Throat Journal Mci Medquest Communications Inc

DOI: 10.1177/0145561320983180

Abstract

Introduction: In the last years, the use of opioid analgesics has increased, as well as their morbidity and mortality, especially in the United States. Most patients after sinonasal surgery receive opioid analgesics, although up to 90% have leftover opioid pills. Around 70% of these patients keep the opioid analgesics, which could possibly lead to improper use. The objective of the following study was the investigation of the need for, use of, timing and side effects of opioid and non-opioid analgesics after sinonasal surgery. Methods: This was a retrospective study of (n = 280) patients who underwent sinonasal surgery in the Otolaryngology Department of the University Erlangen-Nürnberg between January and December 2018. The postoperative pain (3-5 days after surgery) using the numeric rating scale and the postoperative need for on-demand opioids and non-opioid analgesics in relation to demographic and surgical parameters were evaluated. Results: Of total, 59.64% of all patients received opioid analgesics postoperatively on the day of surgery. On the first postoperative day (POD1), the mean pain score yielded the highest values; however, only 0.71% of the patients needed opioid analgesics, and pain was sufficiently controlled with non-opioids or no pain medication at all. There was a significant reduction of the pain score from POD2 to 5 (P =.01; P <.01, respectively). Only 1.8% of the patients needed an opioid analgesic from POD1-5. Of total, 2.1% of the patients presented with a postoperative bleeding complication, and only 1 (0.4%) patient needed endoscopic coagulation. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the majority of patients need opioid analgesics almost exclusively on the day of surgery. There were no major complications in patients taking either opioid or non-opioids. Our results indicate that the postoperative pain regimen from POD1 should initially be started using non-opioid analgesics and be further escalated to opioid analgesics in individual cases.

Authors with CRIS profile

Katharina Schinz Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Matti Sievert Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Konstantinos Mantsopoulos Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Heinrich Iro Lehrstuhl für Hals-, Nasen- und Ohrenheilkunde Sarina Müller-Hübner Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery

How to cite

APA:

Steigerwald, L., Schinz, K., Sievert, M., Mantsopoulos, K., Gostian, A.O., Iro, H., & Mueller, S.K. (2021). Differences in Need for Opioids After Sinonasal Surgery at Day of Surgery and in the Postoperative Period. Ent-Ear Nose & Throat Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145561320983180

MLA:

Steigerwald, Lukas, et al. "Differences in Need for Opioids After Sinonasal Surgery at Day of Surgery and in the Postoperative Period." Ent-Ear Nose & Throat Journal (2021).

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