Legislation successful in reducing opioid prescriptions for orbital surgeries

There was a significant reduction in opioid prescriptions for oculoplastic and orbital surgeries after the enactment of the Michigan opioid legislation in June 2018, according to a poster presented at AAO 2020 Virtual.

In this retrospective review, patients who underwent oculoplastic and orbital surgeries before and after the legislation was in place, were compared.

A total of 88% (1316 out of 1496) of patients who underwent surgery before June 2018 were prescribed opioids compared to 50% (878 out of 1755) of patients who underwent surgery after June 2018.

Before and after the legislation enactment, prescription morphine equivalent decreased for acetaminophen/hydrocodone from 81.3 to 52.2, for tramadol from98.0 to 57.9, and for hydromorphone from 288.0 to 60.0.

Reference

Xie Y, et al. Assessing Postoperative Opioid Prescribing Patterns in Oculoplastic and Orbital Surgeries. Presented at: AAO 2020 Virtual.