An article published in The Spine Journal found that 50% of the patients used narcotics before neck surgery, and at one year after surgery, 50% of the preoperative patients remained on narcotics. ~ Dr. Broussard
Opioid use following cervical spine surgery: trends and factors associated with long-term use
The Spine Journal
Volume 18, Issue 11, November 2018, Pages 1974-1981
The Spine Journal
Clinical Study
Andrew J.Pugely MD
Abstract
Background Context
Limited or no data exist evaluating risk factors associated with prolonged opioid use following cervical arthrodesis.
Purpose
The objectives of this study were to assess trends in postoperative narcotic use among preoperative opioid users (OUs) versus non-opioid users (NOUs) and to identify factors associated with postoperative narcotic use at 1 year following cervical arthrodesis.
Study Design/Setting
This is a retrospective observational study.
Patient Sample
The patient sample included 17,391 patients (OU: 52.4%) registered in the Humana Inc claims dataset who underwent anterior cervical fusion (ACF) or posterior cervical fusion (PCF) between 2007 and 2015.
Outcome Measures
Prolonged opioid usage was defined as narcotic prescription filling at 1 year following cervical arthrodesis.
Methods
Based on preoperative opioid use, patients were identified as an OU (history of narcotic prescription filled within 3 months before surgery) or a NOU (no preoperative prescription). Rates of opioid use were evaluated preoperatively for OU and trended for 1 year postoperatively for both OU and NOU. Multivariable regression techniques investigated factors associated with the use of narcotics at 1 year following ACF and PCF. Based on the model findings, a web-based interactive app was developed to estimate 1-year postoperative risk of using narcotics following cervical arthrodesis (http://neuro-risk.com/opiod-use/ or https://www.neurosurgerycost.com/opioid/opioid_use).
Results
Overall, 87.4% of the patients (n=15,204) underwent ACF, whereas 12.6% (n=2187) underwent PCF. At 1 month following surgery, 47.7% of NOUs and 82% of OUs had a filled opioid prescription. Rates of prescription opioids declined significantly to 7.8% in NOUs versus 50.5% in OUs at 3 months, but plateaued at the 6- to 12-month postoperative period (NOU: 5.7%–6.7%, OU: 44.9%–46.9%). At 1 year, significantly higher narcotic prescription filling rates were observed in OUs compared with NOUs (45.3% vs. 6.3%, p<.001). Preoperative opioid use was a significant driver of 1-year narcotic use following ACF (odds ratio [OR]: 7.02, p<.001) and PCF (OR: 6.98, p<.001), along with younger age (≤50 years), history of drug dependence, and lower back pain.
Conclusions
Over 50% of the patients used opioids before cervical arthrodesis. Postoperative opioid use fell dramatically during the first 3 months in NOU, but nearly half of the preoperative OUs will remain on narcotics at 1 year postoperatively. Our findings serve as a baseline in identifying patients at risk of chronic use and encourage discontinuation of opioids before cervical spine surgery.