Opioids and Surgery

Discover how efficacy and likelihood of harm of opioids differ between patients.

Opioids play an important role in facilitating recovery and return to function after surgery. However, it is now well-established that surgery is a risk factor for persistent postoperative opioid use.

On this three-week course, you’ll explore the key concepts of opioid stewardship. You’ll learn how to minimise the risks associated with opioid use around the time of surgery whilst allowing safe administration to patients who are most likely to benefit from them.

Understand the use of opioids in the perioperative setting

You’ll examine the causes of the world-wide opioid crisis. This will help you understand the challenges of balancing the benefits of opioids against the risks of prescribed opioid-related harm. You’ll also discuss inadequate perioperative pain management leading to poor patient outcomes.

Learn about opioid pharmacology

You’ll learn about the mechanisms of opioid tolerance and dependence, opioid use disorder and non-opioid responsive pain, as well as persistent postoperative opioid use.

You’ll also explore the different properties of opioid drugs that are responsible for both their desired analgesic actions and the adverse drug-related patient outcomes we try to avoid.

Improve the use of opioids in your setting

Through the concept of opioid stewardship, you’ll learn how to promote appropriate safe opioid prescribing and minimise adverse drug events and persistent postoperative opioid use.

You’ll discuss practical strategies including opioid-free and opioid-sparing anaesthesia and analgesia.

Learn with pain management experts at UCL

Throughout the course, you’ll learn from experts at University College London (UCL) and the University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Pain Management Centre, Complex Pain Team and Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine.

This course is for all members of the multidisciplinary team involved in providing pain relief for patients who are having, or have had, surgery. This includes an international audience of:

• Doctors, nurses and physician associates providing anaesthesia, surgical or perioperative care
• Nurses and specialists caring for patients recovering from surgery in the Recovery room, Post-Anaesthetic Care Unit, Critical Care Unit and on surgical wards
• Specialist pain nurses
• General practitioners
• Physiotherapists, clinical psychologists, chiropractors, osteopaths and other allied health professionals with an interest in pain medicine
• Students who are still training in these individual professions Healthcare professionals might find the Certificate of Achievement for this course useful for providing evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) or commitment to their career.

• Opioids in the perioperative setting
• Welcome to the course and to Week 1
• Opioids and surgery
• Evolution of the US opioid epidemic
• The evolving global crisis
• International variation in opioid prescribing
• Persistent postoperative opioid use
• End of Week 1
• Opioid pharmacology
• Introduction to Week 2
• How opioids work
• Perioperative opioid use
• Unwanted effects of opioids
• End of Week 2
• Solutions & best practice
• Introduction to Week 3
• Opioid stewardship
• Best practice: before surgery
• Best practice: during surgery
• Best practice: after surgery
• Best practice: discharge from hospital
• Opioid tolerance & opioid use disorder
• Legal frameworks
• Course conclusion