Safety and Feasibility of Discharge Without an Opioid Prescription for Patients Undergoing Gynecologic Surgery

摘要

Hysterectomy is the second most common surgical procedure among women in the United States, with approximately 600,000 hysterectomies performed annually. Opioids are prescribed to reduce postoperative pain from these and other gynecologic procedures. A significant contributor to the opioid overdose epidemic is prescription opioid misuse, which in 2018 accounted for approximately one-third of opioid overdose deaths. A high proportion (67%-92%) of postoperative patients have unused opioids after their recovery periods; rates of safe storage or disposal are low. Household contacts of patients prescribed opioids are at higher risk of opioidmisuse and overdose than households without opioid prescriptions. Following hysterectomy and other gynecologic procedures, limiting opioid prescriptions has the potential to markedly reduce the household presence of unused opioids nationwide.