Opioid Use Before and After Bariatric Surgery

Obesity is associated with musculoskeletal and back pain, both of which often are treated with opioids. To assess the effect of bariatric surgery and resultant weight loss on opioid use, researchers retrospectively evaluated data on 11,719 U.S. bariatric surgery patients (mean age, 47; mostly women; mean body-mass index before surgery, 44 kg/m²; mean BMI after surgery, 31 kg/m²) to assess opioid use.

Chronic opioid use was defined as ≥10 opioid dispensings or at least a 120-day supply during the year before surgery. Eight percent of patients were classified as chronic opioid users, of whom 77% continued with chronic use postoperatively (not including the 30 postoperative days). The mean daily doses for chronic users (in morphine equivalents)…