Postsurgery Opioids Used Twice as Long by Veterans Discharged to Skilled Care Facilities vs Home

Veterans who were discharged to skilled care facilities after orthopedic surgery were treated with opioids for twice as long compared to those discharged to their homes. Researchers published their findings in The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.

The retrospective study was conducted with a cohort of 448 patients who had orthopedic surgery at a VA hospital between January 2018 and December 2021. Of these, 371 (83%) veterans were discharged to their homes afterward, while 77 (17%) were discharged to skilled care facilities.

Patients in skilled care facilities used opioids for a median of 22 days (range 19, 26), compared to a median of 11 days (range 10, 12) for those who were discharged to home (P<0.001).

Researchers also controlled for baseline characteristics and found discharge to a skilled care facility was strongly associated with opioid use across all the time points they studied [hazard ratio 0.63 (95% CI 0.44, 0.89), P=0.009].

“As postsurgical pain management guidelines change to focus on nonopioid pain modalities and opioid reduction, skilled care providers should adapt those strategies for their facilities,” investigators concluded.

Reference:
Buys MJ, Anderson Z, Bayless K, et al. Postsurgical opioid use among veterans discharged to skilled care facilities compared to veterans discharged to home after orthopedic surgery. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022;S1525-8610(22)00804-0. doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2022.10.016