Toward Zero Prescribed Opioids for Outpatient General Surgery

Toward Zero Prescribed Opioids for Outpatient General Surgery Procedures: a Prospective Cohort Trial

Investigators have created an opioid reduction "package" which includes patient education, non-narcotic pain control instructions, and limited (or no) opioid pain prescriptions provided at discharge in an attempt to reduce the number of opioid consumption after outpatient general surgery.

Between November 2019 and July 2021, patients undergoing elective inguinal hernia repair (IHR) or cholecystectomy were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into three cohorts: Control, opioid sparing (OS), or zero-opioid (ZO). Control patients did not have any intervention; OS patients had an opioid reduction intervention protocol applied (patient education and perioperative multimodal analgesia) and were provided an opioid prescription at discharge; the ZO had the same protocol, however patients were not provided opioid prescriptions at discharge. Two weeks after discharge patients were interviewed to record opioid consumption, pain scores, and level of satisfaction since discharge.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Opioid naïve patients
• Age > 18
• Being scheduled for an outpatient elective inguinal hernia repair or cholecystectomy

Exclusion Criteria:

• Urgent/emergent status
• Previous cholecystostomy tube placement