The Postpartum Period as a Point of Prevention for Opioid Misuse: A Commentary
The nationwide increase in opioid use has led to an epidemic in the United States, resulting in an increase of opioid-related overdose deaths and opioid analgesic prescriptions over the last two decades. The risk of long-term opioid use post-surgery increases when patients are treated with opioid analgesics compared to their counterparts. Guidelines state that opioid analgesics are not always necessary and should be prescribed for the lowest effective dose only as long as pain is expected to be severe; however, over-prescription is common with general populations showing that half the amount of prescribed opioids do not get used by patients.
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