Samuel AM, Lovecchio FC, Premkumar A, et al. - A retrospective cohort study was performed to distinguish a correlation between preoperative opioid use and reoperations rates. Researchers performed a retrospective cohort study applying patients from one private insurance database who underwent primary lumbar decompression/discectomy (LDD) or posterior/transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF/TLIF). They classified preoperative use of five specific opioid medications (tramadol, hydromorphone, oxycodone, hydromorphone, and extended-release oxycodone) as acute (within 3 months), subacute (acute use and use between 3 and 6 months), or chronic (subacute use and use before 6 months). The association of each medication on reoperations within 5 years was ascertained by using Multivariate regression, controlling for multilevel surgery, age, gender, and Charlson Comorbidity Index. The analysis identified a sum of 11,551 patients undergoing LDD and 3291 patients undergoing PLIF/TLIF without previous lumbar spine surgery. The data exhibited that after LDD and PLIF/TLIF, preoperative use of the higher-potency opioid medications is correlated with elevated reoperations in a dose-dependent manner. The data considered that surgeons should use this data for preoperative opioid cessation counseling and individualized risk stratification.