Abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to test whether a negative affect phenotype reflecting depression, anxiety, anger, and pain catastrophizing predicts inpatient and outpatient opioid use outcomes following cardiac surgery. DESIGN: In a single-center prospective observational pilot study, the authors obtained validated measures of negative affect and opioid-related phenotype preoperatively and collected opioid use and opioid misuse-related outcomes at 30-day postoperative follow-up. SETTING: Quaternary medical center. PARTICIPANTS: The final dataset included 30 adult patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery procedures between August 19, 2022, and August 29, 2023. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Opioid outcomes included: (1) total inpatient postoperative opioid use (in milligram morphine equivalents), (2) self-reported number of days that prescribed outpatient opioids were used during the 30-day follow-up period (Timeline Followback method), and (3) number of opioid misuse-related behaviors (Current Opioid Misuse Measure-9) at 30-day follow-up. Generalized linear model analyses using a Poisson distribution indicated that greater preoperative depression, anxiety, anger, pain catastrophizing, and opioid misuse risk (indexed by the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain- Revised) were all significantly (p < 0.002) associated with greater inpatient and outpatient postoperative opioid use, as well as more opioid misuse-related behaviors at 30-day follow-up (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with higher preoperative levels of negative affect (depression, anxiety, anger, and pain catastrophizing) use more inpatient and outpatient opioid analgesics following cardiac surgery, a pattern similar to noncardiac surgery populations. Results support further study of patient-specific approaches to opioid prescribing to reduce the risk for opioid use disorder post-cardiac surgery.