Data from a study published in the May 17 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery suggest that preoperative opioid use may be linked to a reduction in pain relief following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). 

The authors reviewed data from a prospective, cohort study of 156 patients with a mean age of 65.7 years and mean body mass index (BMI) of 31.1 kg/m2, 36 of whom (23 percent) had had at least one opioid prescription. They found that the mean baseline Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain score was 43.0 points for patients with no prior opioid use and 46.9 points for those who had used opioids. At 6-month follow-up, they found that the non-opioid cohort saw a reduction in WOMAC pain score of 33.6 points, compared to a reduction of 27.0 points in the opioid cohort. Learn more...