Previous research indicates a rise in adult opioid misuse due to childhood opioid use. This study seeks to identify patient-specific features associated with postoperative opioid prescriptions at discharge in pediatric plastic surgery patients.
Design
Single-institution, retrospective review.
Setting
Level 1 Pediatric Surgery Center.
Patients, Participants
Patients under 18 years old who underwent surgery by a single pediatric plastic surgeon between January 2020 and November 2022 (N = 429).
Intervention
Surgery by a plastic surgeon.
Main Outcome Measure
Presence of an active opioid prescription at hospital discharge.
Results
In total, 429 patients were analyzed. Upon multivariate analysis, opioid use in inpatient setting (aOR: 4.310; 95% CI: 1.035-17.960; P = .045), private insurance (aOR: 2.031; 95% CI: 1.071-3.854; P = .030), prior surgical history (aOR: 2.015; 95% CI: 1.089-3.726; P = .026), increased age (aOR: 1.164; 95% CI: 1.101-1.230; P < .001), and increased operative time (aOR: 1.016; 95% CI: 1.012-1.020; P < .001) independently increased the odds of having an opioid prescription at discharge. Patients that underwent cleft palate procedures (aOR: 2.299; 95% CI: 1.124-4.702; P = .023) or breast procedures (aOR: 6.768; 95% CI: 1.293-35.425; P = .024) had increased odds of an opioid prescription at discharge. Patients undergoing cutaneous procedures experienced decreased odds of an opioid prescription at discharge (aOR: 0.206; 95% CI: 0.081-0.528; P = .001).
Conclusions
Patient-specific features, including demographic and clinical characteristics, were identified as independent predictors of opioid prescription at discharge in this pediatric plastic surgery patient population.
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