The economic impact of opioids on postoperative pain management

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the consequences of opioid use for postoperative pain management and the degree to which these consequences may be reduced or minimized with opioid-sparing or opioid-replacement techniques. DESIGN: Literature review relating to the economics of postoperative pain management. Comparisons between opioids and opioid-sparing techniques were identified and selected for study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Studies evaluating overall economic impacts or surrogate outcomes (e.g., resource use or recovery milestones) showed benefits with opioid-sparing therapies. CONCLUSIONS: Opioids will likely remain an integral part of postoperative pain management, but side effects increase the costs of care. The challenge is to identify situations where opioid-sparing techniques improve surrogate economic measurements and decrease overall hospital costs.