The opioid epidemic has risen to alarming proportions in the United States, claiming 46,000 lives in 2018. Studies and federal reports documenting evidence of narcotics overuse and addiction in patients have built momentum to curb prescribing habits. Responding to these trends, a Midwestern orthopedic practice launched a multiphase project to…

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Editor's Note In this study, a predictive model that can help identify patients at higher odds for not requiring a prolonged hospital length of stay (LOS) after total hip arthroplasty was developed and validated and a point-based calculator was designed. The calculator included nine variables: age, opioid use, metabolic equivalents…

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Editor's Note The American College of Surgeons on June 6 called for interested hospitals to join a new cohort of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program for Improving Surgical Care and Recovery (ISCR). In the program, presented in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Medicine Armstrong Institute…

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Editor's Note Multimodal analgesia with minimal opiates improved pain control and significantly decreased opiate use and opiate-related adverse effects after discharge from elective total hip replacement surgery, finds this study. The 235 patients analyzed received one of three discharge pain regimens: Group A: scheduled-dose multimodal analgesia (ie, acetaminophen, meloxicam, gabapentin)…

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Editor's Note Patients on an opioid-sparing postoperative pain management pathway reported minimal or no opioid use and high satisfaction and pain control in this study. A total of 190 patients having one of six different procedures participated in the pathway and were advised to use acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 6…

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Editor's Note An increased in adherence to Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) protocols was associated with a decrease in postoperative complications in this study. Of 2,084 patients analyzed, 566 had moderate to severe postoperative complications. The number of patients with moderate to severe complications was lower in the ERAS group…

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Editor's Note Researchers have developed an online app that patients and surgeons can use to guide preoperative planning and provide predictive data for how a patient’s ventral hernia repair will turn out. The basis of the app is a tool named the “Outcomes Reporting App for CLinical and Patient Engagement”…

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Editor's Note Patients with diabetes who had low blood glucose values during the last day of hospitalization had higher rates of 30-day readmission and post discharge mortality, this study finds. Examining 843,978 admissions to the VA health care system over a 14-year period, researchers found that  patients with diabetes who…

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Editor's Note Compared with preoperative independent functional status, preoperative dependent functional status was independently associated with worse outcomes after primary total hip arthroplasty in this study. Of 43,179 patients analyzed, those who were less able to care for themselves: were 2 to 3 times more likely to have surgical complications…

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Editor's Note A new interdisciplinary care protocol for frail elderly trauma patients significantly decreased delirium and 30-day readmission risk in this study. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, compared the care of 125 patients who were treated before the pathway was implemented with 144 patients after the pathway was…

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