Editor’s Note: For payers and policy-makers it can be a challenge to design effective opioid epidemic measures to control the rapid increase of overdoses as program effectiveness data is being accumulated. Staying abreast as to how opioid prescription control policies are evaluated for effectiveness, payers can be more efficient in their policymaking. Click HERE and discuss how BHM helps track claims data for payers. 

opioid epidemic

Patients who take prescription opioids for more than 60 days before total knee or hip replacement surgery are at significantly higher risk of being readmitted to the hospital and of undergoing repeat joint-replacement surgery, compared to patients with no preoperative opioid use, reports a study in the July 18 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio in partnership with Wolters Kluwer.

Opioid Use Linked to Increased Rehospitalization and Reoperation Risks after TKA or THA

The study included approximately 324,000 patients who underwent TKA (233,000 patients) or THA (91,000) between 2003 and 2014. All patients had at least one year of follow-up data, while about 160,000 patients had three years of follow-up.

Patients were identified from a national database that included both private insurance and Medicare data. Preoperative use was assessed as a risk factor for two major adverse outcomes: readmission to the hospital within 30 days and repeat joint-replacement surgery (revision arthroplasty) within one to three years.

In the one-year follow-up group, about 51 percent of TKA patients and 56 percent of THA patients had one or more opioid prescriptions filled in the six months before the procedure. Rates of prolonged preoperative opioid use – more than 60 days – were 16 percent for TKA patients and 19 percent for THA patients.

Prolonged opioid use was associated with an increased risk of both adverse outcomes. For TKA patients, the hospital readmission rate was 4.82 percent among those with no preoperative use versus 6.17 percent for those with more than 60 days of use. For THA patients, the rates were 3.71 versus 5.85 percent, respectively.

At one-year follow-up, the rate of revision TKA was 1.07 percent for patients with no preoperative opioids versus 2.14 percent for those with prolonged use. For THA, the revision rates were 0.38 versus 1.10 percent, respectively.

The increased risks associated with prolonged preoperative opioid use were also significant in the three-year follow-up group. In both groups the opioid-related increases in risk remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, and a “comorbidity index” reflecting other medical conditions. The authors note some limitations of their study, including a lack of data on the cause of repeat surgery or the reason for readmission.

Amid the ongoing opioid epidemic, studies have linked preoperative opioid use to worse clinical outcomes after various types of surgery. Total knee and hip arthroplasty are two of the most common surgical procedures in the United States, with more than one million procedures performed each year. These findings add to those from previous studies linking chronic opioid use to worse outcomes after TKA and THA, including higher rates of complications, implant failure, and death.

The study also finds that more than half of patients are exposed to opioids before TKA or THA, often for a prolonged period. The researchers write, “Although it may not be possible for certain conditions, diminishing or eliminating opioid use preoperatively would be beneficial when planning a total joint arthroplasty.”

For payers and policy-makers it can be a challenge to design effective opioid epidemic measures to control the rapid increase of overdoses as program effectiveness data is being accumulated. Staying abreast as to how opioid prescription control policies are evaluated for effectiveness, payers can be more efficient in their policymaking. Click HERE and discuss how BHM helps track claims data for payers.