Research published in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine shows acute pain is associated with chronic opioid use after total knee arthroplasty.
The researchers compared pre- and postoperative characteristics in 32,874 primary total knee arthroplasty patients reporting lower versus higher acute pain between 2010 and 2015. The procedures were performed at Veterans Affairs hospitals, and the patients had used opioid analgesics prior to their operations. Patients' rates of chronic opioid use (greater than 30 mg/day in morphine equivalents) starting three months after treatment and prescriptions at discharge were also examined.
Here are the research insights to know:
1. Significant chronic opioid use was found in 21 percent of the patients studied.
2. Patients with lower acute pain were less likely to report significant chronic opioid use. Twelve percent of the lower acute pain patients reported chronic significant opioid use, compared to 16 percent of patients with higher acute pain after propensity matching and adjusting for significant factors.
3. Patients with lower acute pain scores were 15 percent less likely to required dose escalation.
Click here to read the full study.