Abstract
BACKGROUND: The treatment of postoperative pain is an ongoing challenge for orthopaedic surgeons. Poorly controlled pain is associated with poorer patient outcomes, and the prescription of opioids may lead to prolonged, nonmedical use. Complementary and alternative medicine is widely adopted by the general public, and its use in chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions has been studied; however, its efficacy in a postoperative context has not yet been established. METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review of 10 databases to identify all relevant publications. We extracted variables related to pain measurement and postoperative opioid prescriptions. RESULTS: We identified 8 relevant publications from an initial pool of 2,517 items. Of these, 5 were randomized studies and 3 were nonrandomized studies. All 8 studies addressed postoperative pain, with 5 showing significant decreases (p < 0.05) in postoperative pain. Also, 5 studies addressed postoperative opioid use, with 2 showing significant differences (p < 0.05) in opioid consumption. Substantial heterogeneity among the studies precluded meta-analysis. No articles were found to be free of potential bias. CONCLUSIONS: Currently, there is insufficient evidence to determine the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines for postoperative pain management or as an alternative to opioid use following orthopaedic surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | S36-S46 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue number | 1 Suppl |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 20 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Disclosure: Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by a grant (1R13AR076879-01) from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. On the Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms, which are provided with the online version of the article, one or more of the authors checked “yes” to indicate that the author had other relationships or activities that could be perceived to influence, or have the potential to influence, what was written in this work ( http://links.lww.com/JBJS/F806 ).
Funding Information:
Disclosure: Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by a grant (1R13AR076879-01) from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS). The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. On the Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest forms, which are provided with the online version of the article, one or more of the authors checked yes to indicate that the author had other relationships or activities that could be perceived to influence, or have the potential to influence, what was written in this work (http://links.lww.com/JBJS/F806)
Publisher Copyright:
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PubMed: MeSH publication types
- Journal Article
- Systematic Review