BACKGROUND: This study investigated the effects of dronabinol on pain, nausea, and length of stay following total joint arthroplasty (TJA). METHODS: We retrospectively compared 81 consecutive primary TJA patients who received 5 mg of dronabinol twice daily in addition to a standard multimodal pain regimen with a matched cohort of 162 TJA patients who received only the standard regimen. A single surgeon performed all surgeries. Patient demographics, length of stay, opioid morphine equivalents (MEs) consumed, reports of nausea/vomiting, discharge destination, distance walked in physical therapy, and visual analog scale pain scores were collected for both groups. Student's t-tests as well as chi-square or Mann-Whitney U-tests were used for statistical comparisons. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the 2 groups for age, gender, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, anesthesia type, visual analog scale scores, distance walked with physical therapy, discharge disposition, or episodes of nausea/vomiting. The mean length of stay in the dronabinol group was significantly shorter at 2.3 ± 0.9 days versus 3.0 ± 1.2 days in the control group (P = .02). In the context of a shorter stay, the dronabinol group consumed significantly fewer total MEs (252.5 ± 131.5 vs 313.3 ± 185.4 mg, P = .0088). Although the dronabinol group consumed fewer MEs per day and per length of stay on average, neither of these achieved statistical significance. No side effects of dronabinol were reported. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that further investigation into the role of cannabinoid medications for non-opioid pain control in the post-arthroplasty patient may hold merit.
BACKGROUND: This study investigated the effects of dronabinol on pain, nausea, and length of stay following total joint arthroplasty (TJA). METHODS: We retrospectively compared 81 consecutive primary TJA patients who received 5 mg of dronabinol twice daily in addition to a standard multimodal pain regimen with a matched cohort of 162 TJA patients who received only the standard regimen. A single surgeon performed all surgeries. Patient demographics, length of stay, opioid morphine equivalents (MEs) consumed, reports of nausea/vomiting, discharge destination, distance walked in physical therapy, and visual analog scale pain scores were collected for both groups. Student's t-tests as well as chi-square or Mann-Whitney U-tests were used for statistical comparisons. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the 2 groups for age, gender, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, anesthesia type, visual analog scale scores, distance walked with physical therapy, discharge disposition, or episodes of nausea/vomiting. The mean length of stay in the dronabinol group was significantly shorter at 2.3 ± 0.9 days versus 3.0 ± 1.2 days in the control group (P = .02). In the context of a shorter stay, the dronabinol group consumed significantly fewer total MEs (252.5 ± 131.5 vs 313.3 ± 185.4 mg, P = .0088). Although the dronabinol group consumed fewer MEs per day and per length of stay on average, neither of these achieved statistical significance. No side effects of dronabinol were reported. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that further investigation into the role of cannabinoid medications for non-opioid pain control in the post-arthroplasty patient may hold merit.
Authors: Christian B Ong; Simarjeet Puri; Juliana Lebowitz; Yu-Fen Chiu; Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle; Alexandra Sideris; Brian P Chalmers Journal: Arch Orthop Trauma Surg Date: 2022-09-21 Impact factor: 2.928
Authors: Kevin Berardino; Austin H Carroll; Robert Ricotti; Daniel Popovsky; Matthew D Civilette; Ivan Urits; Omar Viswanath; William F Sherman; Alan D Kaye Journal: Orthop Rev (Pavia) Date: 2022-08-30
Authors: Bradley J Vivace; Allyson N Sanders; Steven D Glassman; Leah Y Carreon; Joseph L Laratta; Jeffrey L Gum Journal: J Orthop Surg Res Date: 2021-01-14 Impact factor: 2.359
Authors: David G Deckey; Nina J Lara; Matthew T Gulbrandsen; Jeffrey D Hassebrock; Mark J Spangehl; Joshua S Bingham Journal: J Am Acad Orthop Surg Glob Res Rev Date: 2021-02-02
Authors: David G Deckey; Matthew Doan; Jeffrey D Hassebrock; Karan A Patel; Kostas Economopoulos; John M Tokish; Joshua S Bingham; Anikar Chhabra Journal: Orthop J Sports Med Date: 2022-04-05
Authors: Kamali A Thompson; David Klein; Michael J Alaia; Eric J Strauss; Laith M Jazrawi; Kirk A Campbell Journal: Arthrosc Sports Med Rehabil Date: 2020-12-27