ONS Team Published

Results from a groundbreaking study led by ONS surgeon, Dr. Paul Sethi, president of the ONS Foundation for Clinical Research and Education, have been published in Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.  The article, “Opioid Use After Knee Arthroscopy,” discussed the findings of research conducted on patients between March 2018 – March 2019 that studied patient consumption of opiate medication after arthroscopic surgery.

“There is very little published data on how to prescribe pain medication after orthopedic procedures. Given the lack of guidelines, patients are often overprescribed medication out of concern that we may leave them in pain,” said Dr. Sethi

The research team found that 90 % of patients needed 5 or less Oxycodone 5 mg tablets, and that close to 75 % did not take any opiate medication after surgery. This contrasts the expert panel guidelines of 12-30 pills.

“This study provides evidence based guidelines on how to prescribe opiate medication after knee arthroscopy, ” Dr. Sethi said. “Orthopedic surgeons need to continue to lead the charge on reducing opiate dependence after surgery.  This reduction in medication prescribed can translate directly in fewer excess medications prescribed and reduces the risk misused or diverted medication.”

The article was co-authored by ONS knee specialists Dr. Tim Greene and Dr. Katherine Vadasdi, among others.

Read the article.