2024 US-China Round Table Consensus Discussion on Perioperative Opioid Management

An expert panel including policy experts, society leaders, anesthesiologists, pain specialist, pharmacologist, a medicinal chemist, basic and clinical scientists, physician entrepreneurs, educators, and leaders from pharmaceutical companies from the United States and China had a round table discussion on the current issues and potential solutions related to perioperative opioid management. The inappropriate usage of opioids in the perioperative period remains an important safety concern for patients, care providers, and the general public across the world. There is a huge difference in usage practice of opioids between China and USA, therefore, to bring experts from both sides could generate new viewpoints or consensus in driving better pain control with safer usage of opioids for patients in different medical systems, which might be applicable to many countries and regions. The following topics were discussed: 1) The policy and its impact on opioid usage and crisis; 2) Education on opioid usage and management; 3) Opioid monitoring and waste management; 4) Novel opioid development; 5) Perioperative opioid usage and outcome. All the panelists agreed that standardized terminology for opioid usage and opioid pharmacology should be developed, and we should work out reasonable and practical recommendations for a safe and effective usage and management for opioids in the perioperative period.