Refilling Opioid Prescriptions After Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery: An Analysis of Incidence and Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: Understanding which pediatric patients seek opioid refills is crucial as prescription opioid use in childhood is associated with an increased risk of future opioid misuse. Orthopaedic surgeons are optimally positioned to lead the charge in addressing the opioid epidemic. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence of and risk factors associated with requiring opioid refills after pediatric orthopaedic surgery in children.

Methods: This retrospective case-control study included 1413 patients aged 0 to 18 years that underwent orthopaedic surgery at a single tertiary care children's hospital and were prescribed opioids at discharge. Using the state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) database, we determined which patients filled additional opioid prescriptions within 6 months following an orthopaedic procedure. Comparisons were made between patients that sought additional opioids and those that did not use bivariate analysis and binomial logistic regression.

Results: In total, 31 (2.2%) patients sought additional opioid prescriptions a median 41 days postoperatively (range, 2 to 184). Nearly half of these patients obtained refills from providers outside of our institution, suggesting that previous reports using hospital records may underestimate its prevalence. Factors associated with requiring opioid refills included receiving hydromorphone [odds ratio (OR)=3.04, P=0.04] or methadone (OR=38.14, P<0.01) while inpatient, surgery on the axial skeleton (OR=5.42, P=0.01) or lower extremity (OR=2.49, P=0.04), and nonfracture surgery (OR=3.27, P=0.01). Patients who obtained additional opioids received significantly more opioids during their inpatient recovery (32.9 vs. 11.1 morphine equivalents, P<0.01).

Conclusions: Approximately 2% of children and families obtain additional opioids within 6 months of orthopaedic surgery. The volume of opioids during inpatient hospitalization may predict the need for opioid prescription refills after discharge. Clinicians should maximize efforts to achieve pain control with multimodal analgesia and opioid alternatives, and use caution when administering high-dose opioids during postoperative hospitalization.

Level of evidence: Level III-prognostic.