Using implementation science to decrease variation and high opioid administration in a surgical ICU

Background: High doses and prolonged duration of opioids are associated with tolerance, dependence, and increased mortality. Unfortunately, despite recent efforts to curb outpatient opioid prescribing because of the ongoing epidemic, utilization remains high in the intensive care setting, with intubated patients commonly receiving infusions with a potency much higher than doses required to achieve pain control. We attempted to use implementation science techniques to monitor and reduce excessive opioid prescribing in ventilated patients in our surgical intensive care unit (SICU).

Methods: We conducted a prospective study investigating opioid administration in a closed SICU at an academic medical center over 18 months. Commonly accepted conversions were used to aggregate daily patient opioid use. Patients with a history of chronic opioid use and those being treated with an intracranial pressure monitor/drain, neuromuscular blocker, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation were excluded. If the patient spent a portion of a day on a ventilator, that day's total was included in the "vent group." morphine milligram equivalents per patient were collected for each patient and assigned to the on-call intensivist. Intensivists were blinded to the data for the first 7 months. They were then provided with academic detailing followed by audit and feedback over the subsequent 11 months, demonstrating how opioid utilization during their time in the SICU compared with the unit average and a blinded list of the other attendings. Student's t tests were performed to compare opioid utilization before and after initiation of academic detailing and audit and feedback.

Results: Opioid utilization in patients on a ventilator decreased by 20.1% during the feedback period, including less variation among all intensivists and a 30.9% reduction by the highest prescribers.

Conclusion: Implementation science approaches can effectively reduce variation in opioid prescribing, especially for high outliers in a SICU. These interventions may reduce the risks associated with prolonged use of high-dose opioids.

Level of evidence: Therapeutic/Care Management; Level II.