The Incidence of Chronic Opioid Use Following Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair and Patient Opioid Education

• Published in: Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine 2019-07, Vol.7 (7_suppl5)
• Main Authors: Weekes, Danielle G., Feldman, Jenna A., Campbell, Richard E., DeFrance, Michael, Tjoumakaris, Fotios P., Austin, Luke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Education; Narcotics; Orthopedics; Pain; Patients; Prescriptions; Rotator cuff; Sports medicine
• ISSN: 2325-9671; 2325-9671
• DOI: 10.1177/2325967119S00258

Objectives: Opioids are commonly prescribed for pain management following Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair (ARCR). While their efficacy outweighs their risks in the short term, chronic opioid use is associated with significant adverse effects, such as dependence, endocrine imbalance or respiratory depression. The rate of chronic opioid use and dependence following ARCR is unknown. The purpose of this study is to determine the rate of chronic opioid use following ARCR and establish the effect of preoperative opioid education on reducing chronic consumption. A secondary aim is to determine if any correlation exists between chronic opioid use and shoulder functionality. Methods: A prospective, randomized study of 140 patients undergoing ARCR was performed with a minimum follow-up of 24 months. Patients were randomized to receive preoperative opioid education (risks of abuse, dependence, etc.) or no education. State registry database opioid prescription data monitoring software were utilized to search for all opioid prescriptions following ARCR in our patient population and this was compared to our electronic medical database for accuracy/discrepancy. The total number of opioid prescriptions and number of tablets was determined as well as time from surgery to most recent prescription. Patients were contacted to determine a shoulder Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) score and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain score. Categorical data was analyzed via chi-squared tests as appropriate. Numeric data was analyzed using t-tests as appropriate. Results: Forty-five patients (32%) continued to fill opioid prescriptions chronically following ARCR. Seventeen (38%) of these patents received pre-operative opioid educated, whereas twenty-eight (62%) did not (p=0.05). Sixty percent of patients with a history of pre-operative opioid use continued to take opioids, while 23% of opioid naive patients continued (p< 0.01). There was no significant difference in SANE (p= 0.53) or VAS (p= 0.65) scores between the education and control group. Patients taking opioids prior to surgery had worse SANE scores (71.28) than the non-users (86.28), p< 0.01. Conclusion: Almost a third of patients will chronically use opioids following ARCR, including 23% of opioid naive patients. Preoperative opioid use is strongly associated with chronic opioid utilization, as well as decreased shoulder function 2 years after ARCR. Preoperative opioid education significantly decreased the rate of chroni