Avoid opioid use in surgery to reduce postop pain

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Science for years has confirmed that opioids trigger inflammation and that creates pain. Trauma and surgery also create inflammation that leads to pain. How logical is it then to continue use of sufentanil for anesthesia when it is the most highly potent opioid 500 to 1,000 times stronger than morphine. Where is the logic in creating pain by using sufentanil as the anesthetic? A new one on the market will be 10,000 times stronger than morphine. Inflammation is not always easy to reset after you strafe the innate immune system with an opioid.

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Why is ketamine not used more often for surgical anesthesia when we know ketamine profoundly lowers the inflammatory response thus reducing pain more than ever. Studies for years have shown that even a small dose of ketamine reduces postop pain. This is not new.

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A study needs to be done comparing patients who receive no opioids. At least this study showed that when fewer opioids are used, pain scores are 37% lower than if more had been given. Patients given higher doses of opioid, had higher analgesic requirements postop. That increases the risk of persistent chronic pain and the tragic risk of addiction.

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Opioids inflict known lasting harm, pain and suffering, perhaps disability and addiction.

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Reduced opioid use in surgery linked to improved pain scores
Written by Brian Zimmerman

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After anesthesiologists at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville began administering fewer opioids to patients during surgeries, patients’ self-reported pain levels dropped, according to a study led by three UVA anesthesiologists.
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For the study, the team examined 101,484 surgeries that took place in the UVA Health System from March 2011 to November 2015. During this time period, the amount of opioids administered via general anesthesia at the system was reduced by 37 percent.
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For the same time period, self-assessed patient pain scores recorded in post-op recovery units dropped from an average of 5.5 on a 10-point scale to an average of 3.8, marking a 31 percent improvement.

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One of the study’s leaders, UVA anesthesiologist Marcel Durieux, MD, PhD, said the impetus behind the pain score improvements is likely attributable to several factors. One, previous research has indicated opioids can ultimately make people more sensitive to pain. And two, the increased use of non-opioid painkillers like lidocaine and acetaminophen during surgeries at UVA was likely effective.

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….”There is very clear evidence that people can become opioid-dependent because of the drugs they get during and after surgery,” said Dr. Durieux. “I think that by substantially limiting opioids during surgery, we’ve made an important step in addressing that problem.”

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