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Opioid Prescribing Trends After Guidelines

Large US data set tracks postoperative analgesic use over a decade.

  • By

  • Kathryn Wighton

  • March 27, 2026

  • 2 min

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  • 1

    Opioid prescribing decreased by 7.44% immediately after the 2021 guidelines, continuing to decline by 0.20% every 3 months.

  • 2

    Nonopioid prescribing increased by 3.73% immediately following the guidelines, with a continued rise of 0.12% every 3 months.

  • 3

    Overall, 46% of patients received opioids post-parotidectomy, while 7% received only nonopioids, and 47% received no opioids.

  • 4

    The study utilized deidentified electronic health record data and interrupted time series analysis to assess prescribing trends.

  • 5

    Limitations included inability to capture over-the-counter medication use and potential bias from electronic health record coding.

Original Source(s)

Opioid Prescribing Trends After Guidelines

  • by Kathryn Wighton

  • March 27, 2026

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