New persistent opioid use: a case for defining the problem

Q: What does this research mean for the field?

The reported 7.15% pooled incidence of new persistent opioid use after surgery may be uninformative due to limitations in how the problem is defined. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.CONTRADICTORY. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.CHALLENGES_CONSENSUS.

Duncan T. Ritchie

doi:10.1136/rapm-2026-108287

August 28, 2026Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine

New persistent opioid use: a case for defining the problem

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Key Points

Critique the reported pooled incidence and varying definitions of new persistent opioid use (NPOU) after surgery in opioid-naïve individuals.
Critical analysis of the largest published meta-analysis assessing postoperative new persistent opioid use in opioid-naïve surgical populations.
Evaluation of definition heterogeneity and methodological reporting standards across underlying primary studies.
The referenced meta-analysis identified a pooled incidence of new persistent opioid use of 7.15% across surgical cohorts.
Variable and poorly harmonized definitions across included trials limit the informative value and clinical interpretability of the pooled estimate.

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Implication

Commentary reveals limitations in reported rates of new persistent opioid use after surgery, highlighting the need for standardized diagnostic definitions.

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Duncan T. Ritchie (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a93f0b06c1a8fb52e79cffb https://doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2026-108287

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New persistent opioid use: a case for defining the problem

Key Points

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Cite This Study

New persistent opioid use: a case for defining the problem

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Implication

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