Pediatric anesthesia & critical care
The association of intraoperative opioid dose with postanesthesia care unit outcomes in children: a retrospective study
Authors' conclusion
Children who received lower doses of intraoperative opioids did not have worse PACU pain outcomes but required fewer antiemetics and received greater numbers of nonopioid analgesics intraoperatively.
Study context
- Population
- Children aged < 19 yr, ASA I–III, undergoing one of 11 procedures under GA without RA, admitted to the postanesthesia care unit (PACU)
- Participants
- 3,733 cases
- Exposure
- Quartiles of total intraoperative opioid dose
- Outcome
- PACU pain scores and opioid and antiemetic administrations
Methodological detailssingle-institution, multivariable regression adjusted for confounders including procedure
- Single-institution
- Multivariable regression adjusted for confounders including procedure
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
First conscious pain score, mean pain score, PACU opioid dose, PACU LOS
- No significant differences between lowest and higher quartiles after adjustment; estimated differences small
- Higher quartiles more likely to receive antiemetics, significantly so for the second quartile
- Adjusted
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Intraoperative nonopioid analgesics
- Lowest quartile received significantly more intraoperative nonopioid analgesics
PACU pain scores in opioid-free anesthetics (exploratory analysis)
- No significant difference in cases without intraoperative opioids
- Exploratory analysis
Original publication
The association of intraoperative opioid dose with postanesthesia care unit outcomes in children: a retrospective study. Can J Anaesth. Published 2 November 2023. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →