A Prospective Evaluation of Opioid Utilization After Upper-Extremity Surgical Procedures: Identifying Consumption Patterns and Determining Prescribing Guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Although adequate management of postoperative pain with oral analgesics is an important aspect of surgical procedures, inadvertent overprescribing can lead to excess availability of opioids in the community for potential diversion. The purpose of our study was to prospectively evaluate opioid consumption following outpatient upper-extremity surgical procedures to determine opioid utilization patterns and to develop prescribing guidelines. METHODS: All patients undergoing outpatient upper-extremity surgical procedures over a consecutive 6-month period had the following prospective data collected: patient demographic characteristics, surgical details, anesthesia type, and opioid prescription and consumption patterns. Analysis of variance and post hoc comparisons were performed using t tests, with the p value for multiple pairwise tests adjusted by the Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: A total of 1,416 patients with a mean age of 56 years (range, 18 to 93 years) were included in the study. Surgeons prescribed a mean total of 24 pills, and patients reported consuming a mean total of 8.1 pills, resulting in a utilization rate of 34%. Patients undergoing soft-tissue procedures reported requiring fewer opioids (5.1 pills for 2.2 days) compared with fracture surgical procedures (13.0 pills for 4.5 days) or joint procedures (14.5 pills for 5.0 days) (p \u3c 0.001). Patients who underwent wrist surgical procedures required a mean number of 7.5 pills for 3.1 days and those who underwent hand surgical procedures required a mean number of 7.7 pills for 2.9 days, compared with patients who underwent forearm or elbow surgical procedures (11.1 pills) and those who underwent upper arm or shoulder surgical procedures (22.0 pills) (p \u3c 0.01). Procedure type, anatomic location, anesthesia type, age, and type of insurance were also all significantly associated with reported opioid consumption (p \u3c 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this large, prospective evaluation of postoperative opioid consumption, we found that patients are being prescribed approximately 3 times greater opioid medications than needed following upper-extremity surgical procedures. We have provided general prescribing guidelines, and we recommend that surgeons carefully examine their patients\u27 opioid utilization and consider customizing their opioid prescriptions on the basis of anatomic location and procedure type to prescribe the optimal amount of opioids while avoiding dissemination of excess opioids

Nonsurgical Providers Provide the Majority of Postoperative Opioid Prescriptions After Hand Surgery.

Introduction The increased use of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) websites has helped physicians to limit overlapping controlled substance prescriptions and help prevent opioid abuse. Many studies have investigated risk factors for prolonged opioid use after orthopedic surgery, but few studies have investigated who is prescribing opioids to postoperative patients. The purpose of this study is to investigate the types of medical providers prescribing opioids to hand surgery patients postoperatively. Methods Institutional Review Board approval was obtained prior to initiation of this study. An institutional database search was performed to identify all patients ≥18 years old that underwent a single hand surgery at our institution during a specified time period. Patients with more than one surgical procedure during this time were excluded to prevent potential crossover with opioid prescriptions for different surgical procedures. A search of the state PDMP website was performed to identify opioid prescriptions filled by hand surgery patients from six months preoperatively to 12 months postoperatively. Opioid prescribers were classified into several groups: 1) the patient\u27s operating surgeon, 2) other orthopedic surgery providers, 3) general medicine providers (internal medicine, primary care, family medicine, and adult health providers), and 4) all other medical providers. Results Three hundred twenty-seven patients could be identified in the PDMP database who received an opioid prescription on the day of surgery. Of these, 108 (33.0%) filled a total of 341 additional opioid prescriptions postoperatively. Non-orthopedic providers prescribed 81.5% of all opioid prescriptions within 12 months postoperatively, with the patient\u27s operating surgeon prescribing only 10% of all prescriptions. General medicine providers were the highest prescriber group at 28.7% of total postoperative opioid prescriptions. From six to 12 months postoperatively, the patient\u27s operating surgeon prescribed only 4.9% of total opioid prescriptions filled. The patient\u27s operating surgeon prescribed significantly smaller average opioid prescriptions in total morphine milligram equivalents compared to all other provider groups. Conclusions Surgeons should be aware that their surgical patients may be receiving opioid prescriptions from a wide variety of medical providers postoperatively, and that these other providers may be prescribing larger prescriptions. The findings of this study emphasize the importance of collaboration across medical specialties to mitigate the risks of prolonged opioid use after hand surgery

Patient-Reported Disability Measures Do Not Correlate with Electrodiagnostic Severity in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Background:. Electrophysiologic studies including electromyography and nerve conduction studies play a role in the evaluation of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), despite evidence that these studies do not correlate with CTS-specific symptom scores. There is a lack of evidence comparing electrophysiologic data with general measures of function. Methods:. Fifty patients presenting for CTS treatment over an 8-month period were analyzed retrospectively. All patients completed surveys including the Quick Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand questionnaire (DASH) and the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Survey [(physical component summary 12, mental component summary (MCS-12)]. Electromyography and nerve conduction studies were performed on all patients and compared with outcome scores. Results:. Analysis demonstrated no relationship between DASH or MCS-12 and electrodiagnostic severity. No significant correlations were noted between DASH or MCS-12 and median motor or sensory latency. There was a moderate–weak correlation (rho = 0.34) between more severe electrophysiologic grade and better function based on physical component summary 12. Conclusions:. Electrodiagnostic severity grades do not correlate with patient-reported disability, including the DASH and MCS–12 surveys. There is a counterintuitive correlation between more-severe electrodiagnostic findings and decreased physical disability. These findings indicate that disability may not correlate with electrodiagnostic severity of median neuropathy in CTS