Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers found that patients who use opioids for pain relief before their total knee replacements experienced more pain after surgery.
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery published the study.
Researchers examined data from 156 patients who underwent total knee replacements. They collected patient-reported outcomes and demographic data before the procedure and six months after. They also collected data regarding opioid use from the patients' medical records. Researchers used standard pain scales to quantify pain experiences.
Before the procedure, 23 percent of the 156 patients had at least one opioid prescription. The study shows that patients who used opioids before surgery experienced a 9 percent less reduction in pain at six months following surgery compared to those who did not.
"With these study results, we'd encourage physicians to consider discussing long-term implications of opioid therapy with their patients," says Elena Losina, PhD, lead author of the study and co-director of the Orthopedics and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research at Brigham and Women's Hospital.
More articles on opioids:
Enhancing drug monitoring systems can improve care quality, lower costs
Police officer reportedly hospitalized after brushing fentanyl off of uniform
Addiction treatment experts say Price's comments on opioid treatment were 'unscientific, misleading'