A new study examined the frequency of day surgery patients who were treated with multiple injectable opioids, and analyzed the economic burden associated with this treatment practice. The findings reveal that of 63,392 patients, 45 percent were treated with two or more different injectable opioids on the day of surgery. These patients were more likely to be readmitted within 30 days of surgery and had average hospital charges that were higher by $1,458 compared with similar patients who weren’t treated in the same manner. The study was conducted by CogenDx, which offers genetic testing to identify how a patients’ genetic profile may impact his or her response to certain medications.
“Though our study cannot determine why patients were given multiple opioids, we think it may be related to the occurrence of opioid-related adverse events or episodes of residual pain, which resulted in patients being administered additional injectable opioids,” said Rami Ben-Joseph, PhD, senior vice president, health outcomes research, CogenDx. “Improving postoperative pain management can be challenging, but we are now able to help address the variability of a patient’s medication response using genetic testing. Personalized medicine represents an unmet need in postoperative pain management where pharmacogenetics may help clinicians select the best treatment for each patient.”
The study utilized charge data from the QuintilesIMS Hospital Charge Data Master database. Propensity score matching was used to reduce bias that may occur due to the lack of randomization.
A poster presentation will take place on Friday, Sept. 8 at 7 am at Gracia 5, Level 3, located at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.
For more information, visit cogendx.com.
