Study: Black patients more likely to receive oral opioids

Black patients were less likely to receive certain pain medications while recovering from major surgery, according to research presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting. Compared with white patients, doctors were more likely to prescribe Black patients oral opioids and less likely to prescribe multimodal analgesia, involving four kinds of pain management. Multimodal analgesia may be a more effective pain control strategy and can decrease addictive opioid use. The study involved 482 Black adults and 2,460 white adults who underwent major surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital between July 2016 and July 2021. Black patients were 74% more likely than white patients to receive opioids. Being Black was associated with a 29% lower likelihood of receiving multimodal analgesia involving four or more modes. (CNN article, 10/20/24)