Reduced Number of Remaining Opioid Tablets with Optional Prescription in Knee Arthroscopy Patients
This report has been verified
by one or more authors of the
original publication.
Can We Eliminate Opioid Medications for Postoperative Pain Control? A Prospective, Surgeon-Blinded, Randomized Controlled Trial in Knee Arthroscopic Surgery.
Am J Sports Med. 2020 Sep;48(11):2711-2717Exclusive Author Interview
Ninety-five patients who underwent knee arthroscopy surgery with partial meniscal debridement randomized to receive post-surgery prescription of a prescription sent directly to the pharmacy for oxycodone (5 mg of 20 tablets), or given an optional physical copy of the prescription (oxycodone 5 mg of 20 tablets) with instructions to pick up only if necessary. All patients received a multimodal analgesia protocol of 325 mg Aspirin (2x/day for 28 days), 500 mg naproxen (2x/day for 28 days), and 1000 mg Acetaminophen (3x/day for 7 days). The primary outcome of interest was the total number of Oxycodone tablets used post-surgery. Secondary outcomes of interest were number of days opioids were taken post-surgery, pain measured on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and the incidence of adverse events. In addition, other outcomes measured were the length of operation, and number of tablets taken and remaining. All variables were measured at 21 days post-surgery, except for VAS pain which was was measured at 2 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 7 days, and 21 days follow-up. The results revealed no statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in all outcomes except for the total number of tablets taken, which was lower in the electronic prescription group vs physical prescription group (169 vs. 211; p<0.001). Furthermore, the mean number of tablets remaining per patient (16.5+/-5.3 vs. 13.8+/-7.2; p=0.04) and the total number of tablets remaining (791 vs. 649; p<0.001) were also found statistically significantly higher in the electronic prescription group compared to the physical prescription group.
Unlock the Full ACE Report
You have access to 4 more FREE articles this month.
Click below to unlock and view this ACE Reports
Unlock Now
Critical appraisals of the latest, high-impact randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews in orthopaedics
Access to OrthoEvidence podcast content, including collaborations with the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, interviews with internationally recognized surgeons, and roundtable discussions on orthopaedic news and topics
Subscription to The Pulse, a twice-weekly evidence-based newsletter designed to help you make better clinical decisions
Exclusive access to original content articles, including in-house systematic reviews, and articles on health research methods and hot orthopaedic topics
