Assessing the impact of procedure-specific opioid prescribing recommendations on opioid stewardship following pelvic organ prolapse surgery.

BACKGROUND: Nationally, there is increasing concern regarding the volume of opioid medications prescribed postoperatively and the rate of prescription opioid-related adverse events. In evaluation of this, several reports have identified significant variability in postoperative opioid-prescribing patterns, including quantities exceeding patient's needs, especially after minor surgical procedures. However, data regarding patient's postoperative opioids needs following surgery for pelvic organ prolapse are sparse. OBJECTIVE: To design procedure-specific opioid-prescribing recommendations for pelvic organ prolapse surgeries and evaluate their impact on opioid stewardship. STUDY DESIGN: We prospectively evaluated opioid-prescribing patterns, patient use, medication refills, and patient satisfaction in women undergoing prolapse surgery (ie, vaginal, abdominal, or robotic) during an 8-month time period. Two cohorts of women, stratified by whether they had surgery before or after implementation of procedure-specific opioid-prescribing recommendations, were evaluated. Postoperative opioid usage (assessed via pill count), medication refills, and satisfaction with pain management after hospital dismissal were evaluated by telephone call 2 weeks after surgery. Postoperative opioid prescribing and use were recorded after conversion to oral morphine equivalents. RESULTS: Overall, 96 women were included, 57 in the initial baseline cohort, and 39 following implementation of the prescribing recommendations. In the initial cohort, 32.8% of the prescribed oral morphine equivalents (3607/11,007 mg) were consumed. Following implementation of the prescribing recommendations, median oral morphine equivalents prescribed decreased from 200 mg oral morphine equivalents (interquartile range 150, 225) to 112.5 mg oral morphine equivalents (interquartile range 22.5, 112.5; P<.0001). The total oral morphine equivalents prescribed decreased by 45% when compared with the volume that would have been prescribed before implementing the recommendations. The amount of leftover opioids per patient significantly decreased as well (P<.0001). Pain medication refills increased after the intervention (18% vs 3.5%; P=.03), whereas satisfaction scores were similar in both cohorts (P=.87). CONCLUSIONS: By using procedure-specific opioid prescribing recommendations, we decreased the number of opioids prescribed at hospital dismissal by roughly one half. Decreased opioid prescribing did not adversely impact patient satisfaction.

Randomized controlled trial of silver-alloy-impregnated suprapubic catheters versus standard suprapubic catheters in assessing urinary tract infection rates in urogynecology patients.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (UTI) are the most common health-care-related infections. We aimed to compare the UTI rate among women undergoing urogynecological procedures with a silver-alloy suprapubic catheter (SPC) and a standard SPC, and identify the risk factors predisposing patients to UTI. METHODS: Patients who were to undergo placement of an SPC as part of pelvic organ prolapse surgery were enrolled between 1 August 2011 and 30 August 2017, and randomized to either standard SPC or silver-alloy SPC. Follow-up was performed at a postoperative visit or via a phone call at 6 weeks. The primary outcome was UTI. RESULTS: Of the 288 patients who were randomized, 127 with standard SPC and 137 with silver-alloy SPC were included in the analysis. Twenty-nine out of 123 women with standard SPC (23.6%) and 24 out of 131 (18.3%) with silver-alloy SPC were diagnosed with UTI within 6 weeks postoperatively (p = 0.30). In univariate analysis, non-white race (odds ratio [OR] 5.36, 95% CI 1.16-24.73) and diabetes (OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.26-6.23) were associated with increased risk of UTI. On multivariate analysis, only diabetes remained an independent risk factor. Comparisons between groups were evaluated using two-sample t test for age, Chi-squared tests for diabetes, and Wilcoxon rank sum test for all other variables. CONCLUSION: There was only a 5% difference in 6-week UTI rates between those who received standard vs silver-alloy SPC; the study was not powered to detect such a small difference. Diabetes was identified as a risk factor for SPC-associated UTI in women undergoing pelvic reconstructive surgeries.