Opioids prescription for pain relief after knee surgery unnecessary, says study

"When patients learned they can undergo surgery without the need to take opioids to manage their pain, they were excited," said Dr. Jildeh.

Dr. Jildeh said the reliance on prescribing non-opioids for severe pain relief is part of the health system's broader initiative launched in 2016 to reduce the number of opioid pills and patches. In 2019, the State of Michigan enacted new laws regulating the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances including opioid painkillers. From 1999 to 2016, Michigan saw a 17% increase in fatal prescription drug and opioid overdoses.

Studies have shown that patients can become addicted to their opioid pain control medications after various types of surgery including meniscus knee surgery. "Our non-opioid approach is our response to advancing better practices for pain management for our patients," Dr. Jildeh said.

From the study's 61 patients, 30 received opioids for pain control and 31 received a non-opioid regimen such as anti-inflammatories, acetaminophen and muscle relaxers. Researchers reported pain scores from the non-opioid group were equivalent to those of the opioid group and there were no significant differences in side effects between the two groups.

"Patients were given the option to ask for opioids if they felt as if their pain was not in control, and we reported that none of the patients in our nonopioid cohort asked for opioids," said Dr. Jildeh.

The non-opioid approach has become the standard of care for managing pain after meniscus surgery for many surgeons at Henry Ford.