2-Week Post-Operative Opioid Use after Primary Hallux Valgus Correction

CATEGORY: Bunion; Other INTRODUCTION/PURPOSE: More than 200,000 surgeries for hallux valgus correction occur annually in the United States. Due to the post-operative pain associated with the procedure, opioids are often prescribed to help manage pain. The opioid epidemic has led to a 78-billion-dollar economic impact. Given the lack of objective data on opioid use and the difficulty of addressing a patient’s post-operative pain, we sought to quantify, through a prospective analysis, patient’s narcotic use after hallux valgus surgery. Objective data may help guide the surgeon in the type and number of opioids utilized after surgery. METHODS: Adult patients undergoing primary hallux valgus surgery were recruited from two surgeon’s institution. At the pre- operative visit, patients were consented and completed a demographical questionnaire. Data was collected from the operative and PACU record, as well as the 2-week post-operative visit. A simple statistical analysis was performed to determine average quantity and type of opioid and non-opioid pain medication used in the PACU and for post-operative pain management. RESULTS: 33 subjects were prospectively enrolled and followed. The average time until the first post-operative clinic visit was 13.53 days. The average opioid pain medication consumption during this period was 20.766 (0-66) pills, with a morphine milligram equivalents (MME)/kg of body weight at 1.69. (78.8%) were prescribed hydrocodone/acetaminophen 5/325mg and 7 subjects (21.2%) were prescribed oxycodone/acetaminophen 5/325 for post-operative pain management. 84.8% of subjects (28/33) received a local block, including 2 femoral, 2 ankle, 13 popliteal, 3 sciatic, 3 adductor canal, 4 popliteal and saphenous, and 1 popliteal and adductor canal. 24.2% (8/33) of subjects received opioid pain medication in the PACU post-operatively with a MME/kg of body weight at 0.135 per subject. CONCLUSION: Based on our prospective study, we recommend an initial prescription of 30 5mg hydro/oxycodone pain pills, as this represents the 3rd quartile of consumption.