Prospective Observational Study Assessing Opioid Addiction Risk in Postoperative Patients Using the Opioid Risk Tool (Ort) At a Tertiary Care Hospital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22270/ajprd.v13i1.1499Abstract
Opioids are the narcotic analgesics prescribed to treat persistent and severe pain. An alarming increase in opioid misuse in the past two and a half decades has led to a public health crisis. The present study was a prospective observational study conducted in a tertiary care hospital for a period of 6 months.
Objective: The study's primary objective was to determine the potential for opioid addiction among postoperative patients.
Methods: Patient individuals aged 18 years and above who underwent surgery and were prescribed opioid analgesics were included in the study. The opioid risk tool (ORT) was used to assess the potential for addiction of opioid drugs. Required information collected from patients, patient parties and medical records.
Results: There was a total of 220 patients prescribed with opioids after surgery. Among them 190 were males and 148 were females, which suggests among 220 patients, 18.35% patients were seen to be high potential to opioid addiction, 41.44% were at moderate risk and 35.9% were at low risk of opioid addiction potential. Assessing opioid addiction using opioid risk tool shows apersonal history of substance abuse, alcohol abuse, personal history of depression, family history of substance abuse, and long-term use of opioids are one of the main causes of opioid addiction potential.
Conclusion: Opioids are commonly prescribed for post-operative pain management, but prolonged use can lead to the induction of tolerance and the development of dependence. Alternative pain relief methods or pain management plans can be used to reduce opioid misuse and addiction.
Downloads
References
Bohnert ASB, Guy GP, Losby JL. Opioid prescribing in the United States before and after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2016 opioid Guideline. Annals of Internal Medicine [Internet]. 2018 Aug 28;169(6):367.
Jalali MS, Botticelli M, Hwang RC, Koh HK, McHugh RK. The opioid crisis: a contextual, social-ecological framework. Health Research Policy and Systems [Internet].2020Aug6;18(1).
Clarke H, Soneji N, Ko DT, Yun L, Wijeysundera DN. Rates and risk factors for prolonged opioid use after major surgery: population based cohort study. BMJ [Internet]. 2014 Feb 11;348(feb11 3):g1251.
Cochran BN, Flentje A, Heck NC, Van Den Bos J, Perlman D, Torres J, Valuck R, Carter J. Factors predicting development of opioid use disorders among individuals who receive an initial opioid prescription: Mathematical modeling using a database of commercially-insured individuals. Drug and Alcohol Dependence [Internet]. 2014 Mar 14;138:202–208.
Strand MA, Eukel HN, Frenzel O, Skoy E, Steig J, Werremeyer A. Opioid risk stratification in the community pharmacy: The utility of the Opioid Risk Tool. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy [Internet]. 2022 Jul 31;18(12):4065–4071.
Webster LR, Webster RM. Predicting Aberrant Behaviors in Opioid-Treated Patients: Preliminary Validation of the Opioid Risk Tool. Pain Medicine [Internet]. 2005 Nov 1;6(6):432–442.
Skala K, Reichl L, Ilias W, Likar R, Grogl-Aringer G, Wallner C. Can we predict addiction to opioid analgesics? A possible tool to estimate the risk of opioid addiction in patients with pain [Internet]. PubMed. 2013.
McElyea J, Sam B, Hollingsworth H, Chamberlain C, Brown LS. The effect of patient opioid education on opioid use, storage, and disposal patterns. Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy [Internet]. 2022 Jan 2;36(1):11–17.
Klimas J, Gorfinkel L, Fairbairn N, Amato L, Ahamad K, Nolan S, Simel DL, Wood E. Strategies to identify patient risks of prescription opioid addiction when initiating opioids for pain. JAMA Network Open [Internet]. 2019 May 3;2(5):e193365.
Edlund MJ, Steffick D, Hudson T, Harris KM, Sullivan M. Risk factors for clinically recognized opioid abuse and dependence among veterans using opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. Pain [Internet]. 2007 Apr 21;129(3):355–362.
Sullivan MD. Depression effects on long-term prescription opioid use, abuse, and addiction. Clinical Journal of Pain [Internet]. 2018 Mar 2;34(9):878–884.
Wang SC, Chen YC, Lee CH, Cheng CM. Opioid Addiction, Genetic Susceptibility, and Medical Treatments: A review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences [Internet]. 2019 Sep 2;20(17):4294.
Maumus M. The Opioid Risk tool Assessing opioid risk: Why is the sensitive question important? Springer eBooks [Internet]. 2017. p. 217–224.
Huffman KL, Shella ER, Sweis G, Griffith SD, Scheman J, Covington EC. Nonopioid substance use disorders and opioid dose predict therapeutic opioid addiction. Journal of Pain [Internet]. 2014 Nov 8;16(2):126–134.
Kaye AD, Jones MR, Kaye AM, Ripoll JG, Galan V, Beakley BD, Calixto F, Bolden JL, Urman RD, Manchikanti L. Prescription Opioid abuse in Chronic Pain: An Updated Review of Opioid Abuse Predictors and Strategies to Curb Opioid Abuse: Part 1 [Internet]. PubMed. 2017.
Kolodny A, Courtwright DT, Hwang CS, Kreiner P, Eadie JL, Clark TW, Alexander GC. The Prescription Opioid and Heroin Crisis: A Public Health approach to an Epidemic of Addiction. Annual Review of Public Health [Internet]. 2015 Jan 12;36(1):559–574.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Satish S, Tasfiya Manzer Sayed, A.R Shabaraya
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
AUTHORS WHO PUBLISH WITH THIS JOURNAL AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported License. that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
.