CHICAGO — Prolonged opioid use prior to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion may increase the risk for multiple postoperative complications and opioid dependence among older patients, according to results presented here.
“We recommend referrals or consulting multidisciplinary teams pre[operatively] and postoperatively, pain management and addiction medication as they are available,” Michael Kim, BS, said in his presentation at the North American Spine Society Annual Meeting. “We recommend that future studies consider additional risk factors for postoperative