Patients who received intravenous acetaminophen after bariatric surgery had a significantly lower requirement for opioids in the first 24 hours after surgery, results of a small retrospective study showed.
On average, patients treated with IV acetaminophen received 37 percent less opioid analgesia over 24 hours compared with patients who did not receive IV acetaminophen. Patients reported no loss of pain control with IV acetaminophen, as reported here at the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery meeting.
“Use of postoperative intravenous acetaminophen has become standard practice for our bariatric patients,” Maria Fuega, RN, of South Miami Hospital, told MedPage Today. “We have incorporated it into our bariatric surgeons’ order forms.”