Enhanced recovery efforts for cesarean delivery reduce need for opioids by 80%

In a retrospective analysis of cesarean deliveries from 2015 through 2020, a team of doctors from the Colorado Fetal Care Center at Children's Hospital Colorado (Children's Colorado) found that using a wound infusion pump in combination with enhanced recovery efforts such as removing urinary catheters earlier and walking around the same day of surgery can reduce opioid use by more than 80%. Also notable, the researchers found that a third of patients never took a single narcotic pain pill after the cesarean delivery.