Surgical opioid prescription and the risk of opioid initiation among opioid-naive households

Background: We sought to investigate the association between surgical opioid prescriptions and the risk of opioid initiation among opioid-naive spouses.

Methods: Patients who underwent surgery for breast or gastrointestinal cancer were identified from the IBM Marketscan database. Multivariable regression analysis was performed to examine the association between surgical opioid prescription and opioid initiation among opioid-naïve patient spouses.

Results: Among the 9365 individuals included in the analytic cohort, 77.9 ​% (n ​= ​7300) filled a perioperative opioid prescription. Of note, spouses of patients who received a surgical opioid prescription (6.7 ​% vs. 4.5 ​%; p ​< ​0.001) were more likely to begin using opioids. On multivariable analysis, surgical opioid prescription was associated with 61 ​% (1.61, 95%CI 1.28-2.03) higher odds of opioid initiation among opioid-naïve spouses.

Conclusion: Surgical opioid prescriptions are associated with an increased risk of opioid initiation among opioid-naive spouses. These findings underscore the importance of counseling on safe opioid use, storage, and disposal for the family.