Bilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty and In-Hospital Opioid Dispension: A Population-Based Study

There is paucity of data regarding opioid dispension in patients undergoing bilateral total knee arthroplasty (BTKA). Our aim is to compare in-hospital opioid dispension between BTKA and unilateral TKA (UTKA) and to identify other factors associated with opioid dispension in the BTKA and UTKA cohorts.

Patients receiving elective TKA from 2006 to 2016 were retrospectively extracted from the Premier Healthcare Database. The effect of interest was bilateral TKA. Our primary outcome was in-hospital opioid dispension in oral morphine equivalents. Univariable statistics between study variables and TKA type were obtained. A multilevel logistic regression model was run for the outcome of high opioid dispension.

A total of 1,029,120 patients were included. Among these, 14,469 (1.4%) underwent a BTKA. Within the 10-year period studied, there was a decrease in opioid dispension in both groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that patients treated with BTKA had 1.68 times higher odds for high opioid dispension compared to UTKA patients (odds ratio = 1.68; 95.5% confidence interval = 1.62, 1.75; P < .0001). White race, longer length of stay, Charlson/Deyo index, type of insurance, rural location, general anesthesia, peripheral nerve block use, and patient-controlled analgesia were also associated with high opioid dispension. Conversely, a more recent year of surgery, female gender, older age, and administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors were associated with lower odds for high opioid dispension.

BTKA patients have increased odds for higher in-hospital opioid dispension compared to UTKA recipients. Utilization and prescribing habits should be examined to determine the optimal approach to opioid prescription in BTKA patients compared to UTKA.