Opioid prescribing in orthopaedic and neurosurgical specialties in a tertiary hospital: a retrospective audit of hospital discharge data

Abstract

Background: To understand patterns of opioid prescribing on discharge in the orthopaedic and neurosurgical wards of a tertiary metropolitan hospital. Methods: A retrospective audit of medical records and discharge summaries for all orthopaedic and neurosurgical patients admitted for at least 2 days on two surgical wards over a 6-month period between 1 January and 30 June 2017. Results: A combined total of 355 patients (281 orthopaedic and 74 neurosurgical patients) were included in the audit. Approximately 82% were discharged on opioids. Of patients discharged on opioids, 71.4% of the orthopaedic group and 73.8% of the neurosurgical group were discharged on combinations of two or more opioid..