Postoperative Analgesia in the Chronic Pain Patient

Perioperative Opioid Use in Urogynecologic Mesh Removal

IMPORTANCE

Forty percent of patients with urogynecologic mesh pain complications are taking narcotics.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to compare comorbidities and pain scores between patients with and without narcotic use and assess postoperative narcotic use rates.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study of patients undergoing urogynecologic mesh removal. Patients with mesh removal for pain within 7 years were included due to data availability. Narcotic prescriptions were verified using the Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. Pain scores were assessed at baseline and 6-24 months postoperatively.

RESULTS

Of 139 patients, 30 (21.6%) filled narcotic prescriptions within 3 months preceding surgery. These patients were younger and more likely to have a chronic pain condition. Narcotic use did not differ by sling versus prolapse mesh, or presence of exposure. Patients taking preoperative narcotics had a 27-point higher median baseline visual analog scale pelvic pain score (P = 0.01). Patients with pain comorbidities had 6 times odds of using preoperative narcotics. Younger patients had less improvement in pelvic pain after removal. Only 8 (27%) of those taking narcotics discontinued use postoperatively with no significant predictors of prolonged (≥3 months) use. Eighty-seven percent of patients with prolonged postoperative use had a prior pain diagnosis, commonly joint and back pain.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with mesh-related pain, those with chronic pain conditions had much higher odds of taking preoperative narcotics, and in most, mesh removal did not eliminate narcotic use. Counseling is warranted in patients with chronic pain conditions that pain and narcotic use are likely to persist after removal.

Perioperative Naltrexone Management: A Scoping Review by the Perioperative Pain and Addiction Interdisciplinary Network

Substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder, are a public health concern that affect more than 150 million people globally. The opioid antagonist naltrexone is being increasingly prescribed to treat opioid use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and chronic pain. Perioperative management of patients on naltrexone is inconsistent and remains a controversial topic, with mismanagement posing a significant risk to the long-term health of these patients. This scoping review was conducted to identify human studies in which the perioperative management of naltrexone was described. This review includes a systematic literature search involving Medline, Medline In-Process, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Seventeen articles that describe perioperative naltrexone management strategies were included, including thirteen guidelines, one case report, and three randomized trials. Despite its use in patients with alcohol use disorder and chronic pain, no clinical studies, case reports, or guidelines addressed naltrexone use in these clinical populations. All of the guideline documents recommended the preoperative cessation of naltrexone, irrespective of dose, indication, or route of administration. None of these guideline documents were designed on the basis of a systematic literature search or a Delphi protocol. As described by the primary studies, perioperative pain relief varied depending on naltrexone dose and route of administration, time since last naltrexone administration, and underlying substance use disorder. None of the studies commented on the maintenance of recovery for the patient's substance use disorder in the context of perioperative naltrexone management. The current understanding of the risks and benefits of continuing or stopping naltrexone perioperatively is limited by a lack of high-quality evidence. In patients with risk factors for return to use of opioids or alcohol, the discontinuation of naltrexone should have a strong rationale. Future studies and guidelines should seek to address both acute pain management and maintaining recovery when discussing perioperative naltrexone management strategies.

Error traps in the perioperative care of children with chronic pain

Pediatric patients with a history of chronic pain frequently have complex health needs that are challenging to meet in the perioperative period. Error traps are consequences or errors that are known to occur due to either gaps in knowledge or cognitive errors. Avoiding common error traps in these children can contribute to improved patient care and patient outcomes and overall better patient and family satisfaction. In patients with chronic pain, common errors during their perioperative care included as follows: failure to adequately prepare the patient and family; failure to incorporate past pain history and therapy into current treatment plans; failure to provide adequate multimodal analgesia; and failure to provide multidisciplinary and multimodal analgesia by incorporating other services such as mental health services and physical therapy. Cognitive errors may play a role in these error traps. Recognizing and avoiding them may improve and optimize pain care and outcome.

Error traps in acute pain management in children

Providing effective acute pain management to hospitalized children can help improve outcomes, decrease length of stay, and increase patient and parental satisfaction. Error traps (circumstances that lead to erroneous actions or undesirable consequences) can result in inadequately controlled pain, unnecessary side effects, and adverse events. This article highlights five error traps encountered when managing acute pain in children. They include failure to appropriately assess pain, optimally utilize regional anesthesia, select suitable systemic analgesics, identify and treat medication-related side effects, and consider patient characteristics when choosing medication or dosing route. These issues are easily addressed when the clinician is cognizant of ways to anticipate, identify, and mitigate or avoid these errors.