Study: Opioids Increase Risk of Death in Older Adults After Outpatient Surgery

A study in JAMA Surgery found older adults who used opioid pain drugs before minor surgery were up to 68 percent more likely to die within 90 days of the operation compared with those who never used opioids, reports United Press International . Even in subjects older than 65 with low levels of opioid use up to eight months before surgery, about 55 people per 10,000 in the general population died within 90 days of the procedure. Older adults who had not used opioid pain drugs prior to surgery died at a rate of just over 40 per 10,000 in the general population within 90 days. "People who have preoperative exposure to opioids have a higher risk of mortality after outpatient surgery," said the University of Michigan Health System's Katherine Santosa. "Although our analysis cannot discern the underlying causes for this, our findings highlight the need to screen for opioid-related risk prior to surgery."