The study, conducted by researchers at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University, analyzed patient records from 482 Black adults and 2,460 white adults who underwent thoracic or abdominal surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital between July 2016 and July 2021. These surgeries required admission to the intensive care unit within 24 hours post-operation.
Multimodal analgesia, which is more effective for pain management than opioids alone, utilizes multiple types of medications to reduce pain and can decrease the need for addictive opioids, according to the release.
The study found that Black patients were 74% more likely than white patients to receive opioid pills during postsurgical recovery. There was no difference found in the use of two or three modes of analgesia between Black and white patients, the release said.
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