Decrease in opioid and intra-articular corticosteroid burden after intra-articular hyaluronic acid for knee...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Pain Management
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of chronic pain and disability.
• Opioid prescriptions are common for knee OA pain, raising concerns about addiction.
• Alternative treatments are needed to manage pain and reduce opioid reliance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate changes in opioid prescriptions and corticosteroid injection use after intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) for knee OA.
• To analyze opioid prescription patterns before and after knee arthroplasty (KA) in knee OA patients.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 1,017,578 knee OA patients from a commercial claims database.
• Utilized ICD-9/ICD-10 diagnosis codes for patient identification.
• Compared opioid prescription fill rates pre- and post-HA injection and pre- and post-KA.

Main Results:

• 82% of HA patients did not fill opioid prescriptions post-injection; 54% of prior opioid users discontinued fills.
• Two-thirds of KA patients filled opioid prescriptions within 6 months post-surgery.
• Among KA patients, 78% of opioid users continued fills, and 62% of non-users initiated use.

Conclusions:

• Intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) shows potential in reducing opioid use for knee osteoarthritis.
• Knee arthroplasty (KA) patients exhibit high rates of continued or initiated opioid use post-surgery.
• Non-opioid alternatives like HA may mitigate risks associated with opioid use in knee OA management.