After Opioid Crisis in the USA: Researchers in Austria Warn Against Excessive Consumption
Opioids are highly effective pain medications that carry a high risk of dependency with prolonged use. In the USA, the so-called "new persistent opioid use" (NPOU) has emerged as a problem. There, up to seven percent of patients develop continued opioid use after surgery, meaning they continue to use opioids for at least three to six months after the procedure.
Hardly Any Data on Opioid Use in Austria So Far
"For Austria, but also for Europe as a whole, such data has been lacking so far," reported study lead author Razvan Bologheanu from MedUni Vienna in a press release. Now, data from Austrian social insurance of 559,096 patients who underwent a total of 642,857 surgeries between 2016 and 2021 have been used for analysis.
The results show that in Austria, 1.7 percent of patients who did not consume opioids immediately before surgery continue to take painkillers from this group of medications. "According to our investigations, even 6.8 percent developed NPOU after spinal surgeries," explained study leader Oliver Kimberger. A significantly increased risk for continued opioid use was also found after joint replacement and abdominal wall hernia surgeries. In contrast, the rate after appendectomy is only 0.3 percent.
Older People, Pain and Addiction Patients Particularly at Risk
Besides the type of surgery, age and comorbidities also play a role. Older age, chronic pain, and psychiatric disorders, particularly mood and substance use disorders, are significantly associated with postoperative opioid use. People who had taken opioids before surgery and stopped before going to the hospital are also particularly often part of the NPOU group.
"Our study shows that continued opioid use after surgeries is also an important issue in Austria, even though there is a much more restrictive prescription practice than in the USA," the researchers concluded.
(APA/Red)
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