Comparison of Opioid Utilization Patterns After Major Head and Neck Procedures Between Hong Kong and the United States

Abstract

The worsening opioid epidemic in the United States has led to a staggering number of overdose-related deaths. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 350 000 people have died of opioid overdose from 1999 to 2016. In 2016 alone, 40% of the 46 000 opioid-related deaths were related to opioid prescriptions.¹ This in part resulted from a substantial change in prescribing patterns for opioids, with a 4-fold increase from 1999 to 2014. This period marked a surge in choices of available opioids and a public call from major regulatory and governmental bodies to consider pain as the “fifth vital sign.”^2,3 The death rate related to opioid overdose is higher than that for motor vehicle accidents and higher than AIDS-related death rates during the height of the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic.^4,5 As surgeons, we must increasingly engage in solutions for the current opioid epidemic given our unique, potential position to bridge health care, policy, and industry in this trial.⁶ We are also the second largest subgroup of physicians involved in opioid prescribing.⁷