Opioid Use After Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

From 2014 to 2017, more patients received prescriptions, but dispensed amounts were lower.

Concern about potential abuse of prescription opioids led to various professional and governmental programs that were designed to reduce or restrict opioid use. To measure their effect, researchers used a large U.S. healthcare database to assess opioid use following total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) from 2014 to 2017. They retrospectively identified 236,631 arthroplasty patients (one third underwent THA and two thirds underwent TKA; mean age, 65); opioid use and pain levels were evaluated for 60 days after either procedure.

The proportion of TKA patients who received initial opioid prescriptions within 60 days of discharge increased from 82% in 2014 to 92% in 2017 and, among THA patients, from 82% to 90%. Mean tot…

Reviewing Author

Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Thomas L. Schwenk, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Opioid Use After Total Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

Topics

Reviewing Author