Patterns and predictors of outpatient opioid use after cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy

Abstract

Background: Long-term opioid use is a well-known complication after surgery. In this retrospective study of adults who had undergone cytoreductive surgery with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (CRS-HIPEC), we sought to determine the rates and factors associated with outpatient opioid use within the sixth and twelfth postoperative months. Methods: Records of 288 opioid-naïve patients were included. Logistic regression models were used to determine factors prognostic of outpatient opioid use. Results: The median patient age was 54 years, and 63% were female. Rates of outpatient opioid use within the sixth and twelfth postoperative months were 21 and 13%, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, every doubling in the amount of in-hospital postoperative opioid consumption was associated with a 44% increase in odds of opioid use within the sixth postoperative month (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.11–1.87, p =.006) and a 70% increase within the twelfth postoperative month (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.70–2.37, p =.001). Other factors associated with opioid use within the sixth postoperative month included physical status (OR 5.26, 95% CI 1.08–25.55, p =.039) and recent additional surgery (OR 23.02, 95% CI 2.03–261.30, p =.011). Age (OR 4.39, 95% CI 1.77–10.89, p =.001) and tumor grade (OR 3.31, 95% CI 1.31–8.41, p =.012) were associated with opioid use within the twelfth postoperative month. Conclusion: In this study, the amount of in-hospital postoperative opioid consumption was an important contributory factor to outpatient opioid use in the sixth and twelfth postoperative months.Synopsis In this study of adults who had undergone CRS-HIPEC, higher postoperative opioid consumption during hospitalization was associated with higher odds of opioid use within the sixth and twelfth postoperative months.