A pharmacist-led, patient-directed intervention reduced opioid use 90 days after total hip arthroplasty, but not after total knee arthroplasty, according to a study in The American Journal of Managed Care.
Here are four things to know:
1. The study included 561 patients scheduled to undergo total hip or total knee arthroplasty in 2015 and 2016. Patients were randomized to usual care or intervention.
2. Patients in the intervention group were mailed materials two weeks pre- and postoperatively and received a telephone intervention from special -trained pharmacists if they filled opioid prescriptions between 28 and 90 days postoperatively.
3. Study authors found no meaningful reduction in dispensed morphine equivalents for the intervention versus usual care group.
4. However, patients who underwent THA in the intervention group use significantly fewer opioids than patients who underwent THA in the usual care group.