By Lucy Piper, Senior medwireNews Reporter
Taking opioids prior to reverse shoulder arthroplasty does not hamper patients’ chances of having successful outcomes, researchers have found.
They report similar improvements in shoulder function and range of motion for patients irrespective of whether or not they took opioids before surgery, even though baseline scores were better for those with no prior opioid use.
“The key is to establish a preoperative baseline and understand that a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not apply”, say the researchers led by Brent Morris (Texas Orthopedic Hospital, Houston, USA).
“Patients with a history of preoperative opioid use can obtain significant preoperative-to-postoperative improvements; yet, they should not be expected to reach the same peak outcome scores as patients without a history of preoperative opioid use.”
