Surgical Outcomes

Opioid-tolerant patients required much higher postoperative opioid doses than opioid-naive patients. Preoperative opioid use is associated with worse postoperative pain and physical function than opioid-naive status. Opioid-tolerant patients reported higher postoperative pain intensity than opioid-naive patients in one comparison. Surgical safety is a major issue in the United States because tens of millions of operations occur annually. Postoperative adverse events are common, especially after complex operations. Surgical site infection adds substantial cost and prolongs hospitalization. Persistent opioid use after surgery is associated with tolerance, dependence, sedation and falls. Preoperative opioid use is associated with higher risk of revision surgery, periprosthetic infection and readmission. Outcome measures used in report cards include mortality, infection, thromboembolism, complications, readmissions, and reoperations.