Standardized Multimodal Pain Protocol Minimizes Inpatient Opioid Administration in Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Population.

Abstract

Background: Optimal management of post-operative pain is a critical component of orthopedic surgical care. There is a heightened awareness of narcotic prescribing habits given the current "opioid epidemic." The lack of standardized protocols has led to increased errors, delayed access to prescribed medications, and excessive narcotic prescribing.The purpose of this study is to assess the current trends in opioid use and document the prescribing patterns in the pediatric population before and after the implementation of a standardized protocol at our Institution.

Methods: A multimodal postoperative pain pathway was developed and implemented throughout a large, academic, pediatric orthopedic division. The pathway utilized opioid and non-opioid pain medications and educational handouts with descriptions of the different classes of pain medication and specific dosing regimens.A query of electronic medical records was completed to identify all patients under the age of 18 that underwent inpatient orthopedic surgery from January 2016 to June 2018. Based on surgical dissection and anticipated postoperative pain, procedures were grouped into low complexity and high complexity. The average amount of opioids administered to the patients during their stay in the hospital was converted to morphine milligram equivalents (MME). The average MME was plotted, and the trends were analyzed.

Results: 455 inpatients met the inclusion criteria. Opioid pain medication administration was significantly higher in the high-complexity group compared to the low-complexity group. Implementing the multimodal pain pathway significantly reduces opioid administration in both groups without an increase in length of stay.

Conclusion: Implementation of a standardized, post-operative, multimodal pain regimen lead to a significant decrease in the amount of administered narcotics following inpatient orthopedic surgery without an increase in length of stay. Level of Evidence: IV.