English

Abstract

BACKGROUND Preoperative opioid use is one of the predisposing factors for complications after most of the surgical procedures. This study intends to evaluate the effect of preoperative opiates on the outcomes following repair of ventral hernia. METHODS We conducted a prospective study of patients who underwent consecutive ventral hernia repair for over one year with institutional review board approval. Data were obtained regarding the usage of opioids during the preoperative period, intraoperative period, and postoperative period. Follow-up of the cases was done during the postoperative period. Data were obtained regarding the postoperative complications, duration of hospital stay, and the analyzed results. RESULTS A striking thirty percent of the total sixty patients have satisfied the criteria for the usage of opioids preoperatively. Preoperative history and operative details were found to be almost similar between the two categories of patients (no preoperative opioid use versus preoperative opioid use). The median hospital stay duration trended towards increased patients with opioid usage versus non-opioid users (P = 0.06). The bowel function's return to the normal was delayed in opioid users compared with non-opioid users (P = 0.018). The risk of superficial surgical site infection was increased among patients who used opioids preoperatively than the patients without preoperative opioid usage (55.5 % vs. 9.5 %; P < 0.001) and remained the same after multivariable logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS Among patients who underwent repair of ventral hernia, those with preoperative opioid usage experienced an increased risk of superficial surgical site infection than patients without preoperative opioid usage. KEYWORDS Opioid, Ventral Hernia Repair, Surgical Site Infection