Evaluation of a quality improvement bundle aimed to reduce opioid prescriptions after Cesarean delivery: an interrupted time series study

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether opioid prescriptions at discharge after Cesarean delivery decreased following implementation of a quality improvement bundle. METHODS: A quality improvement bundle was instituted at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Interventions included opioid prescribing instructions in resident orientation, nursing and patient education, and standard electronic prescriptions. We used an interrupted time series study design and included patients who had a Cesarean delivery six months pre intervention and six months post intervention. Primary outcome data (opioids prescribed at discharge in morphine milliequivalents [MME]), were aggregated (averaged) by calendar week and analyzed using interrupted time series. Secondary outcomes were assessed using bivariate methods and included opioid use for breakthrough pain in hospital, and amount of opioids prescribed by prescriber specialty and training level. RESULTS: We included 2,578 women in our analysis. Based on the segmented regression analysis, prescribed opioids decreased from 97.6 MME in 2018 to 35.8 MME in 2019 (difference in means, − 61.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], − 72.2 to − 51.3; P < 0.001), and this decrease was sustained over the study period. Post intervention, there were no visits to our postnatal assessment clinic for inadequate pain control. CONCLUSION: A quality improvement bundle was associated with a marked and sustained decrease in discharge prescriptions of opioids post Cesarean delivery at a large Canadian tertiary academic hospital. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12630-021-02143-7.