Abstract

Although multimodal analgesia (MMA) is recommended for perioperative pain management, previous studies have found substantial variability in its utilization. To better understand the factors that influence anesthesiologists' choices, we assessed the associations between patient or surgical characteristics and number of nonopioid analgesic modes received intraoperatively across a variety of surgeries in a university-affiliated Veteran Affairs hospital.We included elective inpatient surgeries (orthopedic, thoracic, spine, abdominal, and pelvic procedures) that used at least one nonopioid analgesic within a one-year period. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We also described the combinations of analgesia used in each surgical subtype and conducted exploratory analyses to test the associations between the number of modes used and postoperative outcomes.Of the 1,087 procedures identified, 33%, 53%, and 14% were managed with one, two, and three or more modes, respectively. Older patients had lower odds of receiving three or more modes (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.15-0.52), as were patients with more comorbidities (two modes: aOR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.79-0.96; three or more modes: aOR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.71-0.94). Utilization varied across surgical subtypes P?

View details for DOI 10.1093/pm/pnz226

View details for PubMedID 31559430