Background: The purpose of the study was to document the consumption of opioids in two surgical departments at the University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, in the period 2010-17.
Material and method: The consumption of opioids in the department of gastrointestinal surgery and the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery was obtained from Nord hospital pharmacy. All opioids were converted to oral morphine equivalents.
Results: The consumption of morphine in the department of gastrointestinal surgery was reduced from 223 835 oral morphine equivalents per year in the period 2010-13, to 147 641 in the period 2014-17. In the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, the yearly consumption of morphine was reduced from 28 652 oral morphine equivalents in the period 2010-13, to 22 945 in the period 2014-17. The consumption of oxycodone in the department of gastrointestinal surgery increased from 210 643 oral morphine equivalents per year in the period 2010-13, to 376 322 in the period 2014-17. In the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, the consumption of oxycodone increased from 28 922 oral morphine equivalents per year in the period 2010-13, to 123 875 in the period 2014-17. In the department of gastrointestinal surgery, the increase was most evident for oxycodone administered intravenously or subcutaneously. In the department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, the largest increase was for oxycodone administered orally.
Interpretation: The consumption of opioids increased in both departments studied, and oxycodone constituted the largest part of the increase.