Risk Factors for Postoperative Opioid Use in Arthroscopic Meniscal Surgery

Purpose (1) To evaluate the influence of preoperative opioid use on postoperative consumption after arthroscopic meniscal surgery and (2) to determine preoperative patient factors associated with increased opioid use after meniscal surgery. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all patients with a primary diagnosis of a meniscal tear at a single institution between August 2013 and February 2017. Patients were classified as opioid nonusers if they had not received any opioid medications in the 3 months before meniscal surgery, as acute users if they received at least 1 opioid prescription within 1 month preceding meniscal surgery, or as chronic users if they received at least 1 opioid prescription within 3 months preceding meniscal surgery. Clinical records were reviewed for postoperative opioid use within a year after surgery. We also recorded patient demographic characteristics and the degree of knee osteoarthritis at the time of surgery using the Outerbridge classification. Results A total of 735 patients were included. The average age was 46.7 years (range, 12-79 years), and the average body mass index was 30.2 ± 6.2 (range, 13.3-55.4). Patients who were acute or chronic opioid users preoperatively were more likely to continue to use opioids beyond 1 month postoperatively ( P P P  = .023 and P  = .014, respectively). No significant difference in postoperative opioid use was noted when we compared meniscal repair versus resection, primary procedure versus revision, different tear types, or concomitant procedures. Conclusions In patients undergoing arthroscopic meniscal surgery, the chronicity of preoperative opioid intake and degree of knee osteoarthritis were found to have a significant effect on postoperative opioid use. Level of Study Level III, retrospective comparative study.