Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Aug;33(6):2405-2409.
doi: 10.1007/s00590-022-03443-4. Epub 2022 Dec 2.

The characteristics of opioid use in patients with proximal humerus fractures

Lucy E Meyer  1 , Jeffrey A O'Donnell  2 , Richard M Danilkowicz  2 , Kier M Blevins  2 , Joshua K Helmkamp  2 , Caroline N Park  2 , Mark J Gage  2 , Oke Anakwenze  2 , Christopher S Klifto  2
Affiliations

The characteristics of opioid use in patients with proximal humerus fractures

Lucy E Meyer et al. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. 2023 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Orthopaedic surgeons prescribe more opioid narcotics than any other surgical specialty. Proximal humerus fractures (PHF) often occur in the high-risk elderly population. The opioid epidemic has led to public policy aimed at reductions in opioid prescription. This study aimed to evaluate the impact that new legislation has had on opioid prescription patterns in patients who sustained proximal humerus fractures.

Methods: A retrospective review of all patients who sustained PHF at a single academic institution from 1/1/2015-12/31/2019 was performed. A total of 762 proximal humerus fractures were identified and final analysis included 383 patients. Collected data included basic demographics and opioid prescriptions obtained through review of the electronic medical record. The North Carolina Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention act legislation that went into effect on July 1, 2017.

Results: There was no difference in the number of pre- or postoperative opioid prescriptions provided with the new legislation. Our data showed a significant reduction in MeQs prescribed preoperatively pre-STOP act (188.1 MeQs) and post-STOP act (99.4 MeQs). There was also a significant difference in the amount of postoperative narcotics prescribed in the pre-STOP (972.6 MeQs) and post-STOP act (508.6 MeQs) groups (p < 0.01).

Conclusions: With the enactment of the STOP act in North Carolina, we have seen a significant reduction in the amount of narcotic prescribed after sustaining a proximal humerus fracture preoperatively and postoperatively. This data demonstrates the impact that implementation of state-wide regulatory changes in opioid prescribing policy has had for a common orthopedic condition.

Keywords: Legislation; Opioids; Proximal humerus fractures.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Frieden TR, Houry D (2016) Reducing the risks of relief—the CDC opioid-prescribing guideline. N Engl J Med 374:1501–1504. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1515917 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Morris BJ, Mir HR (2015) The opioid epidemic. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 23:267–271. https://doi.org/10.5435/JAAOS-D-14-00163 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dart RC, Surratt HL, Cicero TJ et al (2015) Trends in opioid analgesic abuse and mortality in the United States. N Engl J Med 372:241–248. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMsa1406143 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cunningham DJ, LaRose MA, Gage MJ (2021) Impact of substance use and abuse on opioid demand in lower extremity fracture surgery. J Orthop Trauma 35:e171–e176. https://doi.org/10.1097/BOT.0000000000001958 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Volkow ND (2011) Characteristics of opioid prescriptions in 2009. JAMA 305:1299. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2011.401 - DOI - PubMed - PMC

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources