Total joint patients using fewer opioids to manage postop pain

Editor's Note

Opioid use in total hip and knee patients decreased by one-third between 2006 and 2014, which reflects success in the use of a multimodal approach (ie, opioids plus additional pain management methods, such as peripheral nerve blocks and acetaminophen) to pain management, finds this study presented October 21 at the Anesthesiology 2017 annual meeting in Boston.

In this study of more than 1 million total hip and knee patients, researchers found that 27% of total hip patients received opioids alone to manage pain in 2006, compared to 10% in 2014. In total knee patients, 23% received opioids alone in 2006, compared to 7% in 2014.

The findings reflect the steady progress towards the goal of offering patients multimodal therapies to manage pain while reducing the amount of opioids prescribed, the researchers note.

Study is the first to examine progress in shifting to other therapies to combat pain BOSTON - Opioid use in patients recovering from hip and knee replacement decreased by one-third between 2006 and 2014, reflecting success in efforts to promote a multimodal approach to pain management (using a variety of methods to manage pain) rather than using opioids alone, reveals new research being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2017 annual meeting.

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