Fewer opioids may provide optimal pain relief in patients with ankle fractures as greater use of opioids did not improve pain, disability or treatment satisfaction after surgical management of ankle fractures.
The pain management techniques have generated an epidemic
of prescription opioid abuse. A recent study published in Journal of the American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeonssuggested
that there is no valid association between opioid intake and disability after
the surgical management of ankle fractures.
The study elaborates onwhether opioid intake is concerned with disability, satisfaction with treatment, and pain at the time of suture removal and at 5 to 8 months after suture removal after open reduction and internal fixation of ankle fractures.
Out of a total of 102 adult patients at the time of suture
removal, only 59 were available for follow-up at 5 to 8 months. Opioid use;
trauma-related factors; and scores on measures of disability, pain, and
treatment satisfaction were noted at the time of suture removal. The patients
who were available for follow-up completed the disability, pain, and treatment
satisfaction measures at 5 to 8 months and their opioid use at that time was
noted.
As per the results, no relationship was found between
opioid intake and disability at the time of suture removal. Also, no variables were related with opioid
intake at 5 to 8 months after suture removal. The psychologic measures of pain
anxiety and catastrophic thinking were the features most uniformly associated
with disability, treatment satisfaction, satisfaction with pain management,
pain at rest, and pain with activity at both of the time points.
Therefore, the pateints with ankle fractures may be able to
use fewer opioids than are currently prescribed. These patients might encounter
levels of disability and treatment satisfaction comparable with those of
patients who take greater amounts of opioids, irrespectiveof injury features.
Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Association Between Opioid Intake and Disability After Surgical Management of Ankle Fractures
Finger, Abigail et al
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