Short-Term Use Of Opioid Can Also Lead To Addiction, Study Says

A new study shows that even short-term use of opioids after surgery is leading to high rates of addiction and dependence. An opioid is used for treating patients with chronic pain. On the other hand, in the survey, it showed that even prescribing opioids for short-term postsurgical pain could have a serious risk for the patients.

The national survey was conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Incorporation. It involved 500 adults in the U.S., who had an orthopedic or soft tissue surgery in the previous 12 months. There were about 200 U.S. surgeons who perform these procedures. The survey indicated that one in ten of the patients admitted they became addicted to or dependent on opioids after exposure to these medications following an operation.

There are about 70 million surgical patients in the U.S. that are receiving opioid yearly. The findings indicate that as many as 7 million patients could have an opioid addiction or dependency this year following a surgical procedure. The rate among younger people with ages 18 to 29 is about 15 percent. Meanwhile, the rate for those living in the western region of the U.S. is as high as 18 percent.

T.J. Gan, M.D., an anesthesiologist and President of the American Society of Enhanced Recovery (ASER) explained that although potent pain relievers, opioids have long been linked with a range of unwanted and potentially severe side effects that can delay the patient recovery process. This includes nausea, constipation, vomiting and even respiratory depression. He further explained that these findings shine a significant spotlight on the role their use after surgery can play in contributing to the nation's tragic opioid epidemic. He added that this is a factor, to date, has not been a major focus of attention.

Opioids are substances that are often used medically to relieve pain. They produce morphine-like effects. The primary use of opioids is for pain relief. This includes anesthesia, suppressing cough and diarrhea, treat addiction, suppress opioid-induced constipation and reverse opioid overdose. Although it can relieve these conditions, opioids have side effects. These include sedation, euphoria, itchiness, respiratory depression, nausea and constipation.