Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2018

Comments

This article has been peer reviewed. It is the authors' final version prior to publication in The Journal of Arthroplasty, Volume 33, Issue 11, November 2018, Pages 3389-3393.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2018.08.005. Copyright © Schwenk et al.

Abstract

A notable minority of patients experience persistent postsurgical pain and some of these patients consequently have prolonged exposure to opioids. Risk factors for prolonged opioid use after surgery include preoperative opioid use, anxiety, substance abuse, and alcohol abuse. The window to intervene and potentially prevent persistent opioid use after surgery is short and may best be accomplished by both surgeon and anesthesiologist working together. Anesthesiologists in particular are well positioned in the perioperative surgical home model to affect multiple aspects of the perioperative experience, including tailoring intraoperative medications and providing consultation for possible discharge analgesic regimens that can help minimize opioid use. Multimodal analgesia protocols reduce opioid consumption and thereby reduce exposure to opioids and theoretically the risk of persistent use. Regional anesthesia and analgesia techniques also reduce opioid consumption. Although many patients will recover without difficulty, the small minority who do not should receive customized care which may involve multiple office visits or consultation of a pain specialist. Enhanced recovery pathways are useful in optimizing outcomes after surgery.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Additional Files
Figure 1.jpg (489 kB)

PubMed ID

30193882

Language

English

Download

Share

COinS