Aims. The primary aim of this study is to compare mobility status of patients receiving oral oxycodone with those receiving subcutaneous alfentanil as analgesic methods prior to mobilization to help physiotherapy compliance after hip fracture surgery. The secondary aims are to assess postoperative pain, health-related quality of life, in-hospital length of stay, total use of analgesia over postoperative days 1 and 2 (POD 1 and POD 2), complication rates within 30 days, and 30-day mortality rates. Methods. A single-centre, prospective cohort study of 64 patients will be undertaken. Patients undergoing surgery for femoral neck fractures at the study centre will be recruited. Patients with a hip fracture meeting the inclusion/exclusion criteria will be enrolled on admission. Patients who have been administered oral oxycodone will be compared to those prescribed alfentanil for pain prior to mobilization with physiotherapists on POD 1 and POD 2. Which drug a patient receives is reliant of the prescriptions given by the medical team, and in current practice this varies at approximately 50:50. Mobilization will be defined as the ability to stand on and weightbear both feet with or without assistance. Results. Visual analogue scale pain scores, mobility status, and total analgesia use will be assessed on POD 1 and POD 2. EuroQol five-dimension health questionnaire scores, complication rates, and mortality rates will be assessed up to 30 days following surgery (POD 1, 2, 7, and 30). Conclusion. This study will help to build a wider protocol aiming to improve early mobilization after hip fracture surgery. The results of this study will provide pain scores and mobility status which will either support use of subcutaneous alfentanil as the standard analgesic modality prior to physiotherapy sessions, or highlight its limitations compared to the standard oral oxycodone. Secondary outcomes will also help to assess if early mobilization improves outcomes compared to delayed mobilization. Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2025;6(1):53–61

Aims. Currently, there is no single, comprehensive national guideline for analgesic strategies for total joint replacement. We compared inpatient and outpatient opioid requirements following total hip arthroplasty (THA) versus total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in order to determine risk factors for increased inpatient and outpatient opioid requirements following total hip or knee arthroplasty. Methods. Outcomes after 92 primary total knee (n = 49) and hip (n = 43) arthroplasties were analyzed. Patients with repeat surgery within 90 days were excluded. Opioid use was recorded while inpatient and 90 days postoperatively. Outcomes included total opioid use, refills, use beyond 90 days, and unplanned clinical encounters for uncontrolled pain. Multivariate modelling determined the effect of surgery, regional nerve block (RNB) or neuraxial anesthesia (NA), and non-opioid medications after adjusting for demographics, ength of stay, and baseline opioid use. Results. TKAs had higher daily inpatient opioid use than THAs (in 5 mg oxycodone pill equivalents: median 12.0 vs 7.0; p < 0.001), and greater 90 day use (median 224.0 vs 100.5; p < 0.001). Opioid refills were more likely in TKA (84% vs 33%; p < 0.001). Patient who underwent TKA had higher independent risk of opioid use beyond 90 days than THA (adjusted OR 7.64; 95% SE 1.23 to 47.5; p = 0.01). Inpatient opioid use 24 hours before discharge was the strongest independent predictor of 90-day opioid use (p < 0.001). Surgical procedure, demographics, and baseline opioid use have greater influence on in/outpatient opioid demand than RNB, NA, or non-opioid analgesics. Conclusion. Opioid use following TKA and THA is most strongly predicted by surgical and patient factors. TKA was associated with higher postoperative opioid requirements than THA. RNB and NA did not diminish total inpatient or 90-day postoperative opioid consumption. The use of acetaminophen, gabapentin, or NSAIDs did not significantly alter inpatient opioid requirements. Cite this article: Bone Joint Open 2020;1-7:398–404

Purpose:. To investigate treatment patterns and efficacy of postoperative strong opioids in patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Korea. Methods:. A prospective, non-interventional study of 301 patients who underwent TKA and received strong opioids following patient controlled analgesia (PCA) was conducted by reviewing patient charts and diaries from 19 teaching hospitals. Clinical characteristics, strong opioid treatment patterns, efficacy of strong opioid on a scale of 0–10, and opioid-related adverse events (AEs) were investigated during hospitalization and at first outpatient visit. Safety analysis was conducted on 301 patients, and efficacy analysis was conducted on full analysis set (FAS) which consisted of all the patients who had at least 1 efficacy result among 301 patients. Results:. Among the FAS population of 298 patients, 86.9% were female, and mean age was 68.7 ± 7.5 years. Average duration of PCA was 4.3 ± 1.7 days, and average length of hospital stay including surgery was 16.3 ± 7.6 days. The mean duration of strong opioid prescription on a regular basis between PCA discontinuation and discharge was 10.3 ± 6.7 days. At the initial treatment with strong opioid following PCA, mean pain intensity score was 6.1 ± 2.1 upon movement and 4.2 ± 2.4 at rest. At discharge, mean pain intensity score was 4.1 ± 1.9 upon movement and 2.3 ± 1.8 at rest. Meanwhile, pain intensity score at the first outpatient visit was assessed only in 146 patients (49.0%) treated with opioid, and mean pain intensity scores upon movement and at rest were 3.5 ± 2.1 and 1.7 ± 1.8, respectively. Most frequently prescribed opioid was oral oxycodone (47.4%), followed by pethidine injection (17.2%), oral oxycodone/naloxone (12.6%), and transdermal fentanyl (12.0%). Additionally, the most frequently prescribed opioid on a regular basis was oral oxycodone (53.3%), and that on a PRN (pro re nata) basis was pethidine injection (48.4%). Among treatments, mean duration and mean daily dose of oral oxycodone during hospitalization were 6.1 ± 5.6 days and 13.9 ± 8.2 mg, 1.6 ± 1.2 days and 45.5 ± 24.5 mg for pethidine injection, 7.3 ± 5.3 days and 16.2 ± 7.3 mcg/hr for transdermal fentanyl, and 9.4 ± 8.0 days and 23.2 ± 16.8 mg/11.6 ± 8.34 mg for oral oxycodone/naloxone. At discharge, 150 patients (50.3%) were prescribed opioids. The most frequently prescribed strong opioid as discharge medications and their mean daily dose were 17.9 ± 10.5 mg of oxycodone (56.6%), 26.8 ± 17.0 mg/13.4 ± 8.5 mg of oxycodone/naloxone (17.1%), and 15.9 ± 6.1 mcg/hr of fentanyl (11.4%). Of 301 patients, 36 opioid-related AEs were reported in 26 patients (8.6%); the most frequently reported opioid-related AEs were nausea/vomiting in 13 patients (4.3%) experiencing 17 events, constipation in 10 patients (3.3%) experiencing 10 events, and sedation in 3 patients (1.0%) experiencing 3 events. Conclusion:. The first nationwide non-interventional study was conducted to investigate treatment patterns and efficacy of strong opioids in patients who underwent TKA. Among these patients, strong opioids provided favorable pain relief and were well tolerated at relatively low dose following PCA till the first outpatient visit

Introduction. Over the past few decades, opioid abuse has become a major threat to public health. In 2013 alone, enough opioid prescriptions were written in the United States for every American adult to have their own bottle of pills. Since then, opioid prescribing rates and opioid related deaths have continued to grow, with over 46 people dying on average each day from prescription opioid overdoses in 2016. Orthopaedic surgeons are among the top 5 specialties in the number of opioid prescriptions written. For many common surgeries, such as total knee arthroplasty (TKA), post-discharge prescriptions are based on prescriber habits and opinion. There exists limited data-driven protocols to guide post-operative opioid prescribing practices. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the average postoperative opioid consumption in patients undergoing primary TKA using a novel mobile text messaging platform. We hypothesized that majority of patients undergoing TKA do not properly dispose of left over pills after surgery. Methods. 95 patients undergoing primary unilateral TKA with one of nine arthroplasty surgeons at a single orthopaedic specialty hospital were prospectively enrolled. Daily pain levels and opioid consumption, and quantity and disposal patterns for left over medications were collected for six weeks following surgery using a novel mobile phone text messaging system. This system automatically queried patients twice a day, storing responses on a secure third-party host that investigators monitored and used to generate data reports in real-time. Results. Of the 95 patients enrolled, 1 was excluded for undergoing a secondary procedure in the acute postoperative data collection period. Of the remaining 94 patients, 88 (93.6%) completed the daily SMS surveys and were included in analysis. Average age was 62.0 ± 7.1 years, BMI 31.1 ± 6.2, and length of hospital stay 2.6 ± 1.2 days. The average oral morphine equivalents (OME) consumed during the 6 weeks post-surgery were 617.3 ± 350.26 mg, which corresponds to a mean consumption of 82 oxycodone 5 mg tablets per patient. For the 55(58.5%) of patients who had stopped taking opioids within 6 weeks of surgery, there were on average 196.2 mg OME left over, the equivalent of 26 oxycodone 5 mg tablets; 20% of those who stopped taking opioids had at least 367.5 mg OME left over, the equivalent of at least 49 oxycodone 5 mg tablets. Only 26.5% of patients with left over pills described an appropriate method of disposal of left over medications, with most patients storing left over pills in their homes. Conclusion. This prospectively collected data provides a benchmark for average opioid consumption after uncomplicated primary unilateral TKA. Many patients are prescribed more opioids than they require, and left-over medication is infrequently disposed of appropriately, which increases the risk for illicit diversion. Prospective collection of patient reported opioid consumption has tremendous value in the development of national postoperative guideline protocols while informing further research and strategies aimed to reduce opioid use and misuse and in predicting patient characteristics associated with increased opioid consumption after surgery

Introduction. Due to the opioid epidemic, our service developed a cultural change highlighted by decreasing discharge opioids after lower extremity arthroplasty. However, concern of potentially increasing refill requests exists. As such, the goal of this study was to analyze whether decreased discharge opioids led to increased postoperative opioid refills. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed 19,428 patients undergoing a primary hip or knee arthroplasty at a single institution from 2016–2019. Patients that underwent secondary procedures within that timeframe were excluded. Two-thousand two-hundred and forty-one patients (12%) were on narcotics preoperatively or had chronic pain syndrome. Two reductions in routine discharge narcotics were performed over this timeframe. First, 8,898 patients routinely received 750 morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs). After the first reduction, 4,842 patients routinely received 520 MMEs. After a second reduction, 5,688 patients routinely received 320 MMEs. We analyzed refill rates, refill MMEs, and whether discharge MMEs were associated with refill MMEs in a multivariate model. Results. Opioid refill rates were 28%, 32%, and 33% in each timeframe (p=0.001). Significantly fewer patients received narcotic refills after 6 weeks in the 320 MME group (8%) compared to the 750 MME group (6%, p=0.02). Total refill MMEs reduced significantly from a mean of 282 in the first to 227 in the last timeframe (p<0.001). After controlling for age, sex, BMI, history of anxiety/depression, and procedure type, opioid discharge of <400 MMEs was not a risk factor for increased refill MMEs in opioid-naïve patients (p=0.23). Conclusion. While decrease in MMEs prescribed at discharge after arthroplasty led to a slight increase in the number of opioid refills (5%), there was a reduction in total refill MMEs. Furthermore, less patients received refills beyond 6 weeks postoperatively. This institutional cultural change led to a reduction in opioid prescriptions after primary arthroplasty equivalent to 500,000 oxycodone 5 mg tablets

Introduction. Opioids are an important component of multimodal analgesia, but improper utilization places patients at risk for overdose and addiction. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to determine whether the quantity of opioid pills prescribed at discharge is associated with the total amount of opioids consumed or unused by patients after total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty. Methods. 304 Opioid naïve patients undergoing THA or TKA were randomized to receive a prescription for either 30 or 90 5mg oxycodone immediate release (OxyIR) tablets at discharge. All patients received acetaminophen, meloxicam, tramadol and gabapentin perioperatively. Daily opioid consumption, reported in morphine equivalent dose (MED), number of unused OxyIR, and pain scores were calculated for 30 days postoperatively with a patient-completed medication diary. The number of OxyIR refills and total MED received were recorded for 90 days postoperatively. Power analysis determined that 141 patients per group were necessary to detect a 25% reduction in means in opiate consumption between groups. Statistical analysis involved t-test, rank sum, and chi-squared tests with alpha=0.05. Results. 161 Patients were randomized to receive 30 tablets and 143 to receive 90. In the first 30 days, the median number of unused OxyIR tablets was 15 in the 30 group versus 73 in the 90 group (p<0.0001). Within 90 days of discharge, 26.7% of the 30 group and 10.5% of the 90 group requested a refill (p<0.001), leading to a mean of 777.1 MED versus 1089.7 prescribed (p<0.0001). There was no difference between groups in mean MED consumed and pain scores within the first 30 days. Baseline demographics and outcome scores were similar between groups suggesting appropriate randomization. Conclusion. Prescribing a smaller number of opioids at the time of surgery is associated with equivalent pain scores and opioid consumption yet a significant reduction in unused narcotics

Pain management following surgery continues to challenge patients, physician-extenders, and surgeons. A recent survey of 300 patients following surgery found that 86% experienced pain following surgery with 75% describing moderate or severe pain. Pain management in 2017 has to better address patient's needs as Pain has become the “5th Vital Sign” and is used in many patient reported outcomes (for better or worse). Multimodal therapy has been defined as “Synchronous administration of ≥ 2 pharmacological agents or approaches, each with a distinct mechanism of action”. Mounting evidence supports the use of a multimodal approach to peri-operative pain management in all surgical subspecialties. A recent systematic review of intravenous ketamine showed a reduction total opioid consumption and an increase in the time to first analgesic dose needed across all studies. Gabapentin and pregabalin have both been shown to dramatically reduce the use of opioid consumption by 30%. We have worked with our anesthesia team and developed a multimodal analgesia program that includes ketorolac 10mg 3 tabs po qd × 3 days, then 10mg 2 tabs po × 2 days; gabapentin 300mg (<65 year old) or 100mg (>65 year old) 3 tabs po × 3 days; oxycodone 5mg po q 4–6 hours prn breakthrough pain and Tylenol 500mg 1–2 tabs po q 6 hours prn

The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, with the World Health Organization reporting that American's consume 99% of the world's supply of hydrocodone and 83% of the world's oxycodone. Additionally, pre-operative opioid use has been associated with worse clinical outcomes and higher rates of complications following TKA. This is especially important in the TKA population given that approximately 15% of patients are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied at least one year after their TKA procedure. Given the concerning rise is opioid use the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has recently released an information statement with practice recommendations for combating this excessive and inappropriate opiate use. However, little is known regarding peri-operative opioid use for TKA patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to: 1) identify rates of opioid use prior to primary TKA, 2) evaluate post-operative trends in opioid use throughout the year following TKA and 3) identify risk factors for prolonged opioid use following TKA. Overall, 31% of TKA patients are prescribed opioids within 3-months prior to TKA; this percentage has increased over 9% during the years included in this study. Pre-operative opioid use was most predictive of increased refills of opioids following TKA, however, other intrinsic patient characteristics were also predictive of prolonged opioid use. These characteristics remained predictive after controlling for opioid user status. The increasing rates of opioid prescribing prior to TKA are concerning, especially given literature concluding opioids have minimal effect on pain or function in patients with osteoarthritis and pre-operative opioid use is associated with poor outcomes and more complications following TKA. This data provides an important baseline for opioid use trends following TKA that can be used for future comparison and identifies risk factors for prolonged use that will be helpful to prescribers as the AAOS works to decreased opioid use, misuse and abuse within the United States. Our data on THA and unicompartmental arthroplasty is similar with an increase in pre-THA use of 9% with 38% receiving narcotics within 3 months of surgery and continued use in opioid users (9 times non-opioid users at 12 months)

The United States is in the midst of an opioid epidemic, with the World Health Organization reporting that American's consume 99% of the world's supply of hydrocodone and 83% of the world's oxycodone. Additionally, pre-operative opioid use has been associated with worse clinical outcomes and higher rates of complications following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This is especially important in the TKA population given that approximately 15% of patients are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied at least one year after their TKA procedure. Given the concerning rise in opioid use the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) has recently released an information statement with practice recommendations for combating this excessive and inappropriate opiate use. However, little is known regarding peri-operative opioid use for TKA patients. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to: 1) identify rates of opioid use prior to primary TKA, 2) evaluate post-operative trends in opioid use throughout the year following TKA and 3) identify risk factors for prolonged opioid use following TKA. Overall, 31% of TKA patients are prescribed opioids within 3-months prior to TKA; this percentage has increased over 9% during the years included in this study. Pre-operative opioid use was most predictive of increased refills of opioids following TKA, however, other intrinsic patient characteristics were also predictive of prolonged opioid use. These characteristics remained predictive after controlling for opioid user status. The increasing rates of opioid prescribing prior to TKA are concerning, especially given literature concluding opioids have minimal effect on pain or function in patients with osteoarthritis and pre-operative opioid use is associated with poor outcomes and more complications following TKA. This data provides an important baseline for opioid use trends following TKA that can be used for future comparison and identifies risk factors for prolonged use that will be helpful to prescribers as the AAOS works to decreased opioid use, misuse and abuse within the United States

Aims

The rate of day-case total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in the UK is currently approximately 0.5%. Reducing length of stay allows orthopaedic providers to improve efficiency, increase operative throughput, and tackle the rising demand for joint arthroplasty surgery and the COVID-19-related backlog. Here, we report safe delivery of day-case TKA in an NHS trust via inpatient wards with no additional resources.

Aims

The volume of ambulatory total hip arthroplasty (THA) procedures is increasing due to the emphasis on value-based care. The purpose of the study is to identify the causes for failed same-day discharge (SDD) and perioperative factors leading to failed SDD.

Aims

The purpose was to compare operative treatment with a volar plate and nonoperative treatment of displaced distal radius fractures in patients aged 65 years and over in a cost-effectiveness analysis.