Prolonged Opioid Use After Surgery

Overview

Prolonged opioid use after surgery causes substnce abuse and opioid use disorders. Physicans are prescribing opioids at high dosages and for longer durations of time than reccommended amount. The hypothesis states that physcians are one of the main reasons for prolonged opioid use after surgical operations and the use of opioids prior to an operation is closely linked with persistent opioid use after the operation. Multiple studies were examined to find similar trends on persistent opioid use after surgical operations. Studies took information from insurance claims and prescription history to collect data. Opioids are a highly addicitive medication used to relieve pain. Opioids are highly addictive because they activate the reward system in the human body creating pleasurable and happy feelings. People who use opioids for long durations develop disorders such as tolerance, dependence and addiction. All the studies were examined and had simiar outcomes, about six percent of patients who underwent a surgical operation, ended up refilling an opioid prescription 3 to 6 months after the operation. Experiments that had pateints taking an opioid prescription prior to the operation showed a link with opioid use pre-surgery and persistent use post-surgery.

Competition history

• ISEF 2021 Biomedical and Health Sciences · Entry BMED047

Resources

• ISEF abstract page ↗

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