After surgery, up to 71% of prescribed postoperative opioid doses went unused, and after laparoscopic cholecystectomy or herniorrhaphy, more than 80% of patients used fewer than 15 opioid doses (typically 5 mg of oxycodone or hydrocodone each).
Sources
- Prevention of Opioid Overdose | New England Journal of Medicine (nejm.org)
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2644905 (jamanetwork.com)
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28768328/ (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- https://www.ovid.com/jnls/annalsofsurgery/fulltext/10.1097/sla.0000000000001993~wide-variation-and-excessive-dosage-of-opioid-prescriptions (ovid.com)
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6556783/ (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)