Between November 2019 and July 2021, patients undergoing elective inguinal hernia repair (IHR) or cholecystectomy were enrolled in the study. Patients were divided into three cohorts: Control, opioid sparing (OS), or zero-opioid (ZO). Control patients did not have any intervention; OS patients had an opioid reduction intervention protocol applied (patient education and perioperative multimodal analgesia) and were provided an opioid prescription at discharge; the ZO had the same protocol, however patients were not provided opioid prescriptions at discharge. Two weeks after discharge patients were interviewed to record opioid consumption, pain scores, and level of satisfaction since discharge.
