The use of opiod pain relievers has been linked to less improvement and higher levels of dissatisfaction after a spinal surgery, a new study has found

In this study, 326 out of 583 (56 percent) patients reported some degree of opioid use prior to elective lumbar, thoracolumbar or cervical spine surgery between October 2010 and June 2012. Researchers collected preoperative demographic data on all patients including age, sex, race, diabetes and smoking status, level of surgical invasiveness, relevant comorbidities and socioeconomic information. Daily opioid use, including opioid type, dosage, route and frequency of administration in a 24-hour period, was self- reported and converted into a morphine-equivalent amount in milligrams per day. The median patient preoperative daily morphine equivalent amount was 8.75 milligrams.
Patient-reported health status was measured preoperatively, and at three and 12 months following surgery, using a range of established medical tests that measure levels of physical and mental function, depression, distress, back and other pain, disability, somatization (chronic, physical symptoms with no known cause) and treatment results. Among the findings:
- Increased preoperative opioid use was a significant predictor of worse health outcomes at 3 and 12 months following surgical treatment, as measured in 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and EuroQol-5D (EQ-5D) scores.
- Every 10 milligram increase in the daily morphine equivalent amount taken preoperatively was associated with a decrease in mental and physical health and disability scores: a .03 decrease in the SF-12 physical and mental health summary scores, a .01 decrease in the EQ-5D score, and a .5 increase in the Oswestry Disability Index assessment.
- Opioid consumption seems to occur frequently in those with psychiatric comorbidities such as depression and anxiety, which may lead to increased opioid use.
Source-Eurekalert