Pilot implementation of opioid stewardship measures using the national surgical quality improvement program-pediatric platform

Introduction: Data surrounding optimal pediatric postoperative opioid prescribing are incomplete. The objective of this study was to leverage the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric (NSQIP-P) and assess feasibility of added data collection surrounding pediatric perioperative pain management practices including opioid prescribing at discharge. Methods: Nineteen (19) novel data elements were added to NSQIP-P data collection of selected patients, ages 5–18 years, who had undergone surgery at a single, free-standing children's hospital. Metrics around data abstraction and completion of variables were collected. Univariate analyses (using Chi-square or Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests) and multiple logistic regressions were performed to describe predictors of opioid prescribing at discharge and to monitor adherence to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prescribing recommendations. Results: Median abstraction time of the novel variables decreased from 12 to 5 min per patient over 13 months with 94% variable completion rate. Of 878 patients, 302 (36.4%) were prescribed opioids at discharge. Factors associated with an opioid prescription included older age (p < 0.001), white race (p < 0.05), undergoing an orthopedic surgery (p < 0.001), and receiving a regional block perioperatively (p < 0.001). All opioid prescriptions met FDA guidelines with no patients receiving codeine, and 98% of patients receiving opioid prescriptions < 50 morphine milli-equivalents per day. Conclusion: Collecting data on current pain management practices, opioid prescribing, and adherence to safety recommendations is feasible using the NSQIP-P with little added burden. Further expansion of data collection is needed to develop generalizable optimal prescribing practices for post-discharge pain management for children.