Priority 6 from the Anaesthesia (Canada) PSP

UNCERTAINTY: What is the impact of reducing opioids (a type of medication that reduces pain, like morphine) during anesthesia on patient outcomes and opioid dependence after surgery? (JLA PSP Priority 6)
Overall ranking 6
JLA question ID 0084/06
Explanatory note

This question asks about the impacts of reducing opioids as part of the anesthesia medications that are usually given. Respondents wanted to know whether anesthesiologists should reduce use of opioids during and after surgery and what the impacts for patients are, like reduced opioid dependence, satisfaction, etc.
Evidence

Jessen Lundorf L, Korvenius Nedergaard H, Møller AM. Perioperative dexmedetomidine for acute pain after abdominal surgery in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Feb 18;2. https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010358.pub2/abstract
Health Research Classification System category  Generic health relevance
Extra information provided by this PSP
Original uncertainty examples Is there an association between brief INTRAoperative use of parenteral opioids, and subsequent opioid dependence or addiction? ~ How can we reduce the amount of opioid used for painful surgery without having complications of the other agents available?  Are the alternatives worse than the opioids?
Submitted by Healthcare providers, caregivers, patients
PSP information
PSP unique ID 0084
PSP name Anesthesia (Canada)
Total number of uncertainties identified by this PSP. 49  (To see a full list of all uncertainties identified, please see the detailed spreadsheet held on the JLA website)
Date of priority setting workshop 15 May 2019