Is Opioid Consumption Impacted by Study Participation? Maintenance of Fewer Opioid Refills With Reduced Prescription Quantity After Posterior Spinal Fusion in Adolescents With Idiopathic Scoliosis.

Background: Opioid overprescribing can lead to nonmedical opioid use. In a previous prospective study (STUDY), we showed that a standardized protocol involving preoperative education and reduced opioid prescription quantity decreased opioid use in idiopathic scoliosis patients following posterior spinal fusion (PSF). A potential limitation was the Hawthorne effect, where participant behavior changes due to observation. At STUDY conclusion, we continued the reduced opioid prescriptions but discontinued the formal preoperative education. This retrospective study (post-STUDY) assessed if opioid refill requests increased outside of a study setting.

Methods: Post-STUDY included patients aged 10 to 17 years who underwent PSF for idiopathic scoliosis between January 2022 and December 2023 and were discharged with a prescription of ≤30 oxycodone doses. Patients were excluded if they had previous spine surgery or were discharged with an opioid other than oxycodone. Demographics, perioperative variables, and opioid refill requests were compared with the data from STUDY, in which patients were aware their opioid use would be tracked. Patient-reported outcomes were collected via Scoliosis Research Society-22r (SRS-22r) surveys.

Results: The post-STUDY cohort included 67 patients (69% female). The average age at the time of PSF was 13.9 years (range, 11 to 17 y). The mean number of levels fused was slightly higher (10.9 vs. 10.0, P =0.04), and intraoperative estimated blood loss was lower (211 vs. 303 mL, P <0.01) compared with the STUDY cohort. Demographics, preoperative major curve magnitude, surgery duration, and length of hospital stay were similar. The percentage of patients who requested and received opioid refills between the post-STUDY and STUDY cohorts was also similar [6/67 (9%) vs. 3/49 (6%), P =0.30]. SRS-22r showed improvements in self-image, satisfaction, and mean total score from preoperative to postoperative.

Conclusions: Reduced opioid prescriptions did not result in increased opioid refill requests in adolescents undergoing PSF for idiopathic scoliosis outside of a study setting. While formal preoperative discussions about postoperative pain control are important, other factors likely influence opioid use. Further research should explore characteristics that predispose patients to require higher amounts of postoperative opioids.

Level of evidence: Level III-therapeutic.