JAMA Guidelines for Opioid Prescribing in Children and Adolescents After Surgery

A collaborative effort among healthcare experts aimed to address the absence of evidence-based guidelines for prescribing opioids to pediatric surgical patients. Over a rigorous review of literature from 1988 to 2019, involving 217 pertinent articles, they constructed 20 guideline statements endorsed by various medical associations. These guidelines highlighted the risks associated with opioid misuse, emphasized optimizing nonopioid pain management, and stressed the importance of educating both patients and families on perioperative pain management and safe opioid use practices. Notably, these guidelines stand as the first comprehensive framework catering specifically to opioid prescription in pediatric surgery. They underscore the responsibility of healthcare professionals to engage in opioid stewardship efforts to optimize pain management and mitigate opioid-related risks for children undergoing surgery, signaling a critical step toward ensuring effective pain relief while safeguarding pediatric populations from opioid misuse.