Vanderbilt MPH alumna’s study shows cesarean patients are prescribed more narcotic pain medications than needed
Most women who undergo a cesarean childbirth are prescribed more opioid (narcotic) pain medications than needed upon release from the hospital, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) study shows.The study, published online June 8 in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in print in July, studied 179 cesarean patients from VUMC over an eight-week period to examine the variation in opioid prescribing and consumption after cesarean delivery, the most common major surgical procedure performed in the United States.
Authors participating in the study are: Sarah Osmundson, M.D., Michael Richardson, M.D., Leslie Schornack, M.D., Jennifer Grasch, Lisa Zuckerwise, M.D., and Jessica Young, M.D.