Risk Factors for Prolonged Opioid Use Following Total Hip Arthroplasty and Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Narrative Review of Recent Literature

Annals of Pharmacotherapy, Ahead of Print.
Objective:To provide pharmacists and other health care professionals with the knowledge required to minimize the risk of prolonged opioid use following total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Data Sources:A literature search of PubMed and Embase was performed, and included the search terms: (opioid OR opiate OR opium) AND (risk factor OR predict*) AND (arthroplasty OR replacement) NOT shoulder.Study Selection and Data Extraction:Randomized control trials, cohort studies (both prospective and retrospective), systematic reviews, and meta-analyses were included if risk ratios (RRs) or odds ratios (ORs) were reported and published within the last 5 years.Data Synthesis:]Twenty studies met inclusion criteria, including 2 meta-analyses and 2 prospective studies. There were several risk factors that overlapped between studies and presented clinically significant risks for prolonged opioid use following THA and TKA surgery. Of these, age < 65 (RRs: 1.15-9.36), preoperative opioid use (RRs: 1.09-7.81), larger quantities of opioids prescribed at discharge (RRs: 1.26-8.81), and TKA surgery (RRs: 1.73-6.07) were the most significant. Several risk factors were recently described, including migraines (RRs: 1.14-5.11) and fibromyalgia (RRs: 1.1-2.3) that may be of interest for further research.Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice:This review presents a discussion of the factors associated with prolonged opioid use following THA and TKA surgeries, which are among the most common orthopedic surgeries.Conclusions:Prescribers should carefully consider patient-specific factors when prescribing opioids as there are several factors, including age, surgery type, and medical conditions that can predispose patients to prolonged opioid use.