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For the study, the health solutions company examined billing data from the QuintilesIMS Hospital Charge Data Master database. For the purposes of the study, uncontrolled postoperative pain was measured by the intravenous administration of three or more different opioids on the same day of surgery, according to a news release.
Researchers found approximately one-third of patients received injectable opioids for uncontrolled postoperative pain, the release states.
“Though pain is a predictable consequence of surgery, there’s been numerous studies in recent years that have shown that postoperative pain is often undertreated,” Rami Ben-Joseph, PhD, senior vice president of health outcomes research at Millennium Health, said in the release. “This is concerning because mismanaged pain can cause adverse health outcomes like pulmonary complications or the development of chronic pain.”
The full study is slated for presentation at the annual Perioperative Medicine Summit this month in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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