Commentary on “Opioid-use disorder and reported pain after spine surgery: Risk-group patterns in cognitive-appraisal processes in a longitudinal cohort study”

Skolasky et al. recently published a aimed to analyze the potential impact of different cognitive appraisal processes as moderators of opioid-use disorder (OUD) risk during postoperative recovery. 1This is a highly relevant topic, as long-term opioid use, particularly for managing postoperative pain associated with spinal disease, has been linked to poor outcomes in patients undergoing spine surgery. 2-4As a result, there is growing emphasis on minimizing postoperative narcotic use while still optimizing adequate pain control following spinal surgery.The authors reviewed the electronic medical records of patients undergoing treatment for back and/or leg problems, neck or arm/shoulder conditions, or isolated spinal deformities.Surgical procedures included discectomy, decompression, and fusion.Data on patient-reported outcomes, cognitive factors, and pre-and postoperative narcotic use, were collected both preoperatively and at three months post-procedure.