Cutting opioid use for cesarean deliveries finds success

Opioids to relieve pain after surgery have become both a mainstay of hospital care and a potential risk for later addiction. A new study explores a different way to manage cesarean delivery, which for many patients is their first exposure to the drugs. Researchers compared how patients did before and after testing a policy using local anesthetics during surgery and starting postoperative treatment with non-opioid painkillers with the option to get opioids if needed. Among 2,171 deliveries before the new policy, 84% of patients received opioids while in the hospital, compared to 34% of the 1,508 patients who delivered babies after the policy was implemented. Patients took a median total of 56.5 milligrams of opioids before but 15 milligrams after the new policy. And patients in the non-opioid group went home about half a day sooner.