ON THE COVER:
Whether a particular surgeon’s opioid prescribing behavior is associated with prolonged postoperative opioid use is unknown. In this issue of Anesthesiology, Cen et al. tested the hypothesis that patients of surgeons with a higher propensity to prescribe opioids are more likely to utilize opioids long-term postoperatively. In an accompanying editorial, McIsaac and Ladha discuss anesthesiologists’ role in the opioid epidemic and opportunities to improve opioid prescribing practices. Cover illustration: A. Johnson, Vivo Visuals Studio.
Cen et al.: Surgeon Variation in Perioperative Opioid Prescribing and Medium- or Long-term Opioid Utilization after Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Cross-sectional Analysis, p. 151–62
McIsaac and Ladha: Postoperative Opioid Prescribing: Finding the Balance, p. 131–3
