| Literature DB >> 32309760 |
Cody C Wyles1, Mario Hevesi1, Daniel S Ubl1, Elizabeth B Habermann1, Halena M Gazelka1, Robert T Trousdale1, Norman S Turner1, Mark W Pagnano1, Tad M Mabry1.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evidence-based, procedure-specific guidelines for prescribing opioids are urgently needed to optimize pain relief while minimizing excessive opioid prescribing and potential opioid diversion in our communities. A multidisciplinary panel at our institution recently developed procedure-specific guidelines for discharge opioid prescriptions for common orthopaedic surgical procedures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate postoperative opioid prescription quantities, variability, and 30-day refill rates before and after implementation of the guidelines.Entities:
Year: 2020 PMID: 32309760 PMCID: PMC7147632 DOI: 10.2106/JBJS.OA.19.00050
Source DB: PubMed Journal: JB JS Open Access ISSN: 2472-7245
Fig. 1Box-and-whisker plot demonstrating paired representation of postoperative opioid prescriptions for 14 procedures in the pre-guideline (red) and post-guideline (blue) periods. The boxes indicate the 25th to 75th percentile interquartile range (IQR), with the whiskers indicating the 5th to 95th percentile. Prescribed oral morphine equivalents (OME) are shown on the left y axis, and the number of 5-mg oxycodone tablets (tabs) is shown on the right y axis. The procedures (x axis) are arranged from left to right in increasing order of median post-guideline-period prescription. Scope = arthroscopy, recon = reconstruction, ORIF = open reduction and internal fixation, ACL = anterior cruciate ligament, MTP = metatarsophalangeal, lami = laminectomy or laminotomy, TSA = total shoulder arthroplasty, THA = total hip arthroplasty, and TKA = total knee arthroplasty.
Summary of Departmental Guidelines for Maximum Opioid Prescription Amounts*
| Level | Procedure | Max. OME | Tramadol (50 mg) | Hydrocodone (5 mg) | Oxycodone (5 mg) | Hydromorphone (2 mg) | Oxycodone (5 mg) + Tramadol (50 mg) |
| 1 | Acute fracture management | 100 | 20 tabs | 20 tabs | 15 tabs | 15 tabs | Oxycodone, 8 tabs |
| Carpal tunnel release | Tramadol, 8 tabs | ||||||
| 2 | Knee arthroscopy | 200 | 40 tabs | 40 tabs | 25 tabs | 25 tabs | Oxycodone, 15 tabs |
| ACL reconstruction | Tramadol, 20 tabs | ||||||
| Thumb basal joint reconstruction | |||||||
| 1st MTP arthrodesis | |||||||
| Femoral-neck fracture ORIF | |||||||
| 3 | Ankle fracture ORIF | 300 | 60 tabs | 60 tabs | 40 tabs | 40 tabs | Oxycodone, 20 tabs |
| Ankle arthrodesis | Tramadol, 30 tabs | ||||||
| Shoulder arthroscopy | |||||||
| Distal radial ORIF | |||||||
| Lumbar laminectomy or laminotomy without arthrodesis | |||||||
| 4 | THA | 400 | 80 tabs | 80 tabs | 50 tabs | 50 tabs | Oxycodone, 25 tabs |
| TKA | Tramadol, 40 tabs | ||||||
| TSA | |||||||
| Lumbar laminectomy or laminotomy with arthrodesis |
OME = oral morphine equivalents (mg), tabs = tablets, ACL = anterior cruciate ligament, MTP = metatarsophalangeal, ORIF = open reduction and internal fixation, THA = total hip arthroplasty, TKA = total knee arthroplasty, and TSA = total shoulder arthroplasty.
OME derived by multiplying the conversion factor (shown as follows in parentheses) by the number of milligrams of a tablet: (0.1) 50-mg tablet tramadol = 5 OME; (1.0) 5-mg tablet hydrocodone = 5 OME; (1.5) 5-mg tablets oxycodone = 7.5 OME; (4.0) 2-mg tablets hydromorphone = 8 OME.
Examples of Level-1 conditions/procedures (not assessed in the study).
Demographics of the Pre-Guideline and Post-Guideline Cohorts*
| Patient Factor | All (N = 4,523) | Pre-Guideline (N = 2,223) | Post-Guideline (N = 2,300) | P Value[ |
| Age | 63 (18-103) | 63 (18-98) | 63 (18-103) | 0.52 |
| Female sex | 2,323 (51%) | 1,140 (51%) | 1,183 (51%) | 0.92 |
| BMI | 31 (14-69) | 31 (14-69) | 31 (15-67) | 0.59 |
| Race | 0.28 | |||
| White | 4,282 (95%) | 2,114 (95%) | 2,168 (94%) | |
| Black | 59 (1%) | 30 (1%) | 29 (1%) | |
| Other | 182 (4%) | 79 (4%) | 103 (5%) | |
| Length of stay | 2.0 (0-26) | 2.2 (0-26) | 1.9 (0-22) | |
| Final pain score at discharge | 3 (0-10) | 3 (0-10) | 3 (0-10) | 0.23 |
| Preop. opioid use | 0.97 | |||
| Naïve | 3,277 (72%) | 1,610 (72%) | 1,667 (72%) | |
| Tolerant | 1,246 (28%) | 613 (28%) | 633 (28%) | |
| Cancer diagnosis | 0.18 | |||
| No | 3,773 (83%) | 1,871 (84%) | 1,902 (83%) | |
| Yes | 750 (17%) | 352 (16%) | 398 (17%) | |
| Diabetes diagnosis | 0.44 | |||
| No | 3,868 (86%) | 1,892 (85%) | 1,976 (86%) | |
| Yes | 655 (14%) | 331 (15%) | 324 (14%) | |
| Anxiety diagnosis | 0.77 | |||
| No | 4,055 (90%) | 1,996 (90%) | 2,059 (90%) | |
| Yes | 468 (10%) | 227 (10%) | 241 (10%) | |
| Depression diagnosis | 0.25 | |||
| No | 3,817 (84%) | 1,890 (85%) | 1,927 (84%) | |
| Yes | 706 (16%) | 333 (15%) | 373 (16%) |
Continuous variables are given as the mean, with the range in parentheses. Categorical variables are given as the number of patients, with the percentage of the group in parentheses.
Bold indicates a significant value.
Prescription Quantities and Refill Status in the Pre-Guideline and Post-Guideline Cohorts*
| Patient Factor | All (N = 4,523) | Pre-Guideline (N = 2,223) | Post-Guideline (N = 2,300) | P Value |
| OME prescribed | 388 (300-638) | 600 (390-863) | 375 (239-400) | |
| OME prescribed > 200 | ||||
| No | 655 (14%) | 178 (8%) | 477 (21%) | |
| Yes | 3,868 (86%) | 2,045 (92%) | 1,823 (79%) | |
| OME prescribed > procedure guideline | ||||
| No | 1,991 (44%) | 414 (19%) | 1,577 (69%) | |
| Yes | 2,532 (56%) | 1,809 (81%) | 723 (31%) | |
| 30-day opioid refill | 0.43 | |||
| No | 3,401 (75%) | 1,683 (76%) | 1,718 (75%) | |
| Yes | 1,122 (25%) | 540 (24%) | 582 (25%) |
OME = oral morphine equivalents. Continuous variables are given as the median, with the interquartile range (IQR) in parentheses. Categorical variables are given as the number of patients, with the percentage of the group in parentheses.
Bold indicates a significant value.
Thirty-Day Opioid Prescription Refill Rate by Procedure in the Pre-Guideline and Post-Guideline Periods*
| Procedure | Pre-Guideline 30-Day Refill Rate | Post-Guideline 30-Day Refill Rate | Change in 30-Day Refill Rate | P Value |
| Knee arthroscopy | 9.3% | 7.8% | −1.5% | 0.68 |
| ORIF for femoral-neck fracture | 35.4% | 19.3% | −16.1% | 0.063 |
| Thumb basal joint reconstruction | 16.7% | 24.7% | +8.0% | 0.34 |
| ORIF for distal radial fracture | 20.0% | 6.1% | −13.9% | 0.063 |
| ACL reconstruction | 23.8% | 20.9% | −2.9% | 0.69 |
| 1st MTP arthrodesis | 34.9% | 20.0% | −14.9% | 0.084 |
| ORIF for ankle fracture | 34.8% | 27.4% | −7.4% | 0.34 |
| Lumbar lami. without arthrodesis | 22.2% | 22.1% | −0.1% | 0.98 |
| Ankle arthrodesis | 24.0% | 18.9% | −5.1% | 0.57 |
| Lumbar lami. with arthrodesis | 44.8% | 47.4% | +2.6% | 0.74 |
| Shoulder arthroscopy | 15.0% | 14.8% | −0.2% | 0.98 |
| TSA | 13.3% | 17.0% | +3.7% | 0.24 |
| THA | 16.7% | 22.4% | +5.7% | 0.15 |
| TKA | 34.7% | 36.8% | +2.1% | 0.44 |
ACL = anterior cruciate ligament, MTP = metatarsophalangeal, ORIF = open reduction and internal fixation, lami. = laminectomy or laminotomy, TSA = total shoulder arthroplasty, THA = total hip arthroplasty, and TKA = total knee arthroplasty.
Multivariable Adjusted Odds of Discharge Opioid Prescriptions Being Greater than Guideline Maximums
| Patient Factor | Guideline Goal Exceeded | P Value[ |
| Period | ||
| Pre-guideline | 9.9 (8.6-11.4) | |
| Post-guideline (ref.) | ||
| Preop. opioid use | ||
| Tolerant | 0.9 (0.8-1.1) | 0.389 |
| Naïve (ref.) | ||
| Age in yr | ||
| <50 | 2.3 (1.7-3.1) | |
| 50-64 | 2.4 (1.9-3.1) | |
| 65-79 | 2.0 (1.5-2.5) | |
| ≥80 (ref.) | ||
| BMI in kg/m2 | ||
| ≥30 | 1.1 (0.9-1.2) | 0.319 |
| <30 (ref.) | ||
| Sex | ||
| Male | 1.2 (1.0-1.4) | |
| Female (ref.) | ||
| Race | ||
| Black | 1.4 (0.8-2.6) | 0.283 |
| Other | 1.0 (0.7-1.4) | 0.979 |
| White (ref.) | ||
| Length of stay | ||
| >75th percentile | 1.2 (0.9-1.5) | 0.157 |
| ≤75th percentile (ref.) | ||
| Anxiety diagnosis | ||
| Yes | 1.1 (0.8-1.4) | 0.661 |
| No (ref.) | ||
| Depression diagnosis | ||
| Yes | 1.0 (0.8-1.3) | 0.796 |
| No (ref.) | ||
| Diabetes diagnosis | ||
| Yes | 1.1 (0.9-1.3) | 0.513 |
| No (ref.) | ||
| Cancer diagnosis | ||
| Yes | 0.9 (0.8-1.1) | 0.558 |
| No (ref.) |
The values are given as the odds ratio, with the 95% confidence interval in parentheses.
Bold indicates a significant value.