Pain Control Following Sinus Surgery

Summary

Given the ongoing national opioid epidemic, an increased interest has developed in optimizing opioid prescribing practices of physicians, including otolaryngologists. Endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) is one of the most commonly performed surgeries by otolaryngologists with over 250,000 ESS's performed annually in the U.S. Multiple studies have shown that, compared to the amount patients actually consume, otolaryngologists prescribe a high quantity of opioids to patients recovering from ESS). It has been shown that these excess opioid medications contribute to prolonged use or abuse by the patient, family members, or friends. The purpose of this study is to better understand the pain management requirements of patients who undergo ESS for recurrent acute rhinosinusitis (RARS) or chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). This prospective, randomized, multi-institutional controlled trial will aim to determine the degree to which pain following ESS can be adequately controlled by non-opioid medications. It will also determine whether post-ESS narcotic use can be avoided entirely, or at least significantly limited. Patients will be randomized into two groups, each of which will receive a stepwise analgesic regimen consisting of acetaminophen and oxycodone or acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Pain will be assessed daily using visual analog scales (VAS) and the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI). The results of this study will help to develop a standardized approach to pain management in the post-ESS setting and help to elucidate the role of non-opioid pain medications. The ultimate goal would be to positively affect opioid prescribing patterns among surgeons who perform ESS in order to significantly reduce the quantity of opioids prescribed to patients while continuing to adequately manage patients' pain.

Timeline

Start

2019-04-04

Primary completion

2020-07-01

Completion

2020-12-30

Publications

• Background Bhattacharyya N. Ambulatory sinus and nasal surgery in the United States: demographics and perioperative outcomes. Laryngoscope. 2010 Mar;120(3):635-8. doi: 10.1002/lary.20777.
• Background Schwartz MA, Naples JG, Kuo CL, Falcone TE. Opioid Prescribing Patterns among Otolaryngologists. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018 May;158(5):854-859. doi: 10.1177/0194599818757959. Epub 2018 Feb 20.
• Background Svider PF, Arianpour K, Guo E, Folbe E, Zuliani G, Lin H, Eloy JA, Folbe AJ. Opioid prescribing patterns among otolaryngologists: Crucial insights among the medicare population. Laryngoscope. 2018 Jul;128(7):1576-1581. doi: 10.1002/lary.27101. Epub 2018 Feb 15.
• Background Mohan S, Bhattacharyya N. Opioids and the Otolaryngologist: An Ambulatory Assessment. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2018 Jul;159(1):29-34. doi: 10.1177/0194599818765125. Epub 2018 Mar 20.
• Ayoub NF, Choby G, Turner JH, Abuzeid WM, Raviv JR, Thamboo A, Ma Y, Chandra RK, Chowdhury NI, Stokken JK, O'Brien EK, Shah S, Akbar N, Roozdar P, Nayak JV, Patel ZM, Hwang PH. Assessment of Opioid Use and Analgesic Requirements After Endoscopic Sinus Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021 Sep 1;147(9):811-819. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2021.1839.

Drugs

Indications