Worse patient-reported outcomes and higher risk of reoperation and adverse events after total hip replacement in patients with opioid use in the year before surgery: a Swedish register-based study on 80,483 patients

Johan Simonsson; Erik Bülow; Karin Svensson Malchau; Fredrik Nyberg; Urban Berg; Ola Rolfson

doi:10.2340/17453674.2021.1021

Authors

Johan Simonsson Department of Orthopaedics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg; Department of Surgery and Orthopaedics, Kungälvs Hospital, Kungälv
Erik Bülow Department of Orthopaedics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg; Swedish Arthroplasty Register, Gothenburg, Centre of Registers Västra Götaland, Gothenburg https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9973-456X
Karin Svensson Malchau Department of Orthopaedics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9050-7929
Fredrik Nyberg School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0892-5668
Urban Berg Department of Orthopaedics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg; Department of Surgery and Orthopaedics, Kungälvs Hospital, Kungälv https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3202-0199
Ola Rolfson Department of Orthopaedics, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg; Swedish Arthroplasty Register, Gothenburg, Centre of Registers Västra Götaland, Gothenburg https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6534-1242

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/17453674.2021.1021

Keywords:

Arthroplasty, Hip, Opioids, Osteoarthrosis

Abstract

Background and purpose — Recent studies indicate that preoperative use of opioids could be associated with higher rates of complications and worse patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after orthopedic surgery. We investigated the prevalence of preoperative opioid use and analyzed its influence on risk of revision, adverse events (AE), and PROs in patients with total hip replacement (THR).

Patients and methods — This observational study included 80,483 patients operated on in 2008–2016 with THRs due to osteoarthritis. Data was obtained from the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register, Statistics Sweden’s sociodemographic registers, the Swedish National Patient Register, and the Prescribed Drug Register. We focused on patients with ≥ 4 opioid prescriptions filled 1 year prior to THR. To control for confounding, we used propensity scores to weight subjects in our analyses. Logistic and linear regression was used for outcome variables with adjustments for sociodemographic variables and comorbidities.

Results — Patients with ≥ 4 opioid prescriptions in the year before THR (n = 14,720 [18%]) had a higher risk of revision within 2 years (1.8% vs. 1.1% OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.3–1.6) and AE within 90 days (9.4% vs. 6.4% OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.2–1.3) compared with patients without opioid treatment in the preoperative period. Patients with ≥ 4 opioid prescriptions rated 5 points worse on a 0–100 scale of Pain Visual
Analogue Scale (VAS) and 9 points worse on a general
health (EQ) VAS 1 year postoperatively.

Interpretation — Having ≥ 4 opioid prescriptions filled in the year before surgery is associated with a higher risk of revision, adverse events, and worse PROs after THR. Consequently, preoperative opioid treatment should be addressed in the clinical assessment of patients eligible for THR.