Morphine Delays Discharge following Ambulatory Surgery: A Prospective Institutional study

• Published in: Journal of perioperative practice Vol. 19; no. 8; pp. 254 - 256
• Main Authors: Basu, Narendra Nath, Kald, Bengt, Heath, Dugal
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.08.2009; Sage Publications Ltd. (UK); Association for Perioperative Practice
• Subjects: Admission and discharge; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; Analgesics; Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects; Drug therapy; Economic aspects; Female; Health aspects; Hospitals; Humans; Length of Stay; Male; Middle Aged; Morphine; Morphine - adverse effects; Observational studies; Patient outcomes; Patient satisfaction; Perioperative care; Prospective Studies; Surgeons; Surgery; Young Adult; Delayed discharge; Morphine; Ambulatory surgery
• ISSN: 1750-4589; 2515-7949
• DOI: 10.1177/175045890901900804

Introduction - Morphine is used regularly in day surgery despite its known side-effects. We assessed whether this delayed discharge. Patients and methods - 100 patients were divided into 2 groups: 50 patients received morphine and 50 patients received non-morphine analgesia. Demographic data and reasons for delayed discharge were recorded. Results – 73% of all major cases received morphine compared to only 19% of minor cases. Operative and recovery times were significantly greater in the morphine group. 58% of patients given morphine had a delayed discharge compared to 14% of patients not given morphine. Conclusions - Morphine use in day surgery is associated with increased operating and recovery times and higher rates of delayed discharge.