Tapered Dose Postoperative Opioid Prescriptions Following Inpatient Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: Quality Improvement Study and Retrospective Review

Background: Overprescription of pain medications directly fuels the opioid epidemic. Veterans are profoundly impacted. Tapered dose protocols may reduce excessive prescribing.Methods: A retrospective study of adult veterans who presented to our institution for primary total knee arthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty (THA) was performed. Postdischarge opioid use was reviewed before and after an opioid taper prescription protocol. The preprotocol and postprotocol groups had 299 and 89 veterans, respectively. Total Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME) prescribed postdischarge, number of tablets prescribed, number of refills issued, 30-day emergency department visits, and 30-day readmissions were compared. Opioid naive and chronic opioid users were both included.Results: Preprotocol and postprotocol implementation group, in combination with surgery type (total knee arthroplasty versus THA) and opioid naive status, predicted MME. On average, the postprotocol group received 224 MME less, THA patients received 177 MME less, and nonopioid naive patients received 152 MME more.Conclusion: The opioid taper protocol led to less opioid administration after discharge. Taper protocols should be considered for postoperative pain management. Level of Evidence: III, retrospective comparison study. (c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Overprescription of pain medications contributes to the opioid epidemic and affects veterans significantly. The implementation of an opioid taper protocol resulted in reduced administration of opioids postdischarge. The study suggests that taper protocols should be considered for postoperative pain management.