2019 AAOS Annual Meeting: Are We Overprescribing Opioids for Adolescents with Lower Extremity Fractures? Preliminary Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial at a Level I Pediatric Trauma Facility

34 adolescent patients with a lower extremity fracture which required fixation were randomized postoperatively to either a text-based information protocol on opioid use, misuse, and disposal, or to no intervention. Patients were assessed for narcotic use, pain scores, and disposal of unused opioid tablets. The results demonstrated no significant difference between groups in either daily narcotic use or pain scores. The majority of patients in both groups were recorded as having only used 0-5 opioid tablets prior to cessation. Those provided the text-based information messages demonstrated a lower rate of keeping unused opioid tablets. As a cohort, mean number of opioid tablets used per patient across both groups was 6.2, far less than the 27.7 tablets per patient prescribed.