Decreased opioid use prior to joint replacement surgery has been linked with improved patient satisfaction and outcomes fewer complications and a reduced need for post-surgical opioids according to two new studies. In the first study researchers reviewed insurance data for 84685 patients between 2007 and 2014. Patients undergoing total knee replacement (TKR) their comorbidities prescriptions and 90-day outcomes were identified using condition/disease codes. They found nearly 59 percent of the patients (49617) did not use opioids prior to surgery while 41.4 percent did. The top three prescribed opioids were hydrocodone/acetaminophen oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone. This study found that within the three
