Overprescribing opioid medications has been a significant factor in the U.S. opioid epidemic. A new study out of the 2021 American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons annual meeting suggests that this overprescribing is occurring in children’s common orthopedic procedures too.
The researchers found that children and adolescents undergoing common orthopedic surgical procedures used significantly less opioids than they were prescribed, with 56% of the medication remaining unused in the postoperative period.
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