Pain Profile and Pain Medication Use After THA and TKA

The over-prescription and overuse of opioid medications in the United States has recently been recognized as an epidemic. A new law in North Carolina (STOP Act) is aimed to limit opioid prescriptions following any surgical procedure including total hip (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, there is limited evidence regarding patient's pain and actual opioid consumption following THA and TKA that can be used by practitioners as guidance adapting to the new law. The purpose of this study is to investigate patient's pain and pain medication use in the perioperative period (0-6 weeks) following THA and TKA to establish a pain profile and thereby investigating risk factor for increased postoperative pain and opioid pain medication requirements. This study aims to stratify a predication model of postoperative pain and opioid medication requirement after THA and TKA to identify patients with a high propensity for pain, improve preoperative patient education on postoperative pain expectations, thereby helping practitioners implement new postoperative prescriptions limits for THA and TKA patient.