Study documents opioid abuse following urologic surgery

(Loyola University Health System) About 1 in 1,111 patients who undergo urologic surgery for conditions such as prostate cancer and kidney stones experience opioid dependence or overdose (ODO), a Loyola Medicine study has found. Patients at highest risk for ODO were younger, underwent inpatient surgery, had longer hospital stays, were on Medicaid or Medicare or had a history of depression or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.