Opioid prescribing for patients waiting for hip and knee surgery increased by 40 during pandemic

摘要

Prescribing of opioids for patients awaiting hip and knee replacement surgery increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published in BMJ Quality and Safety (https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/early/2021/08/29/bmjqs-2021-013450.full#T2) . The study, carried out by researchers at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, looked at data collected from 548 NHS patients from the north east of Scotland. They compared patients on the outpatient waiting list for primary hip and knee arthroplasty, as of September 2020, with historical patients who had had surgery before the pandemic, and found that the proportion of patients prescribed weak opioids (codeine/dihydrocodeine/tramadol) was around 40% (132/260 vs 99/272) higher in the waiting list group. The median waiting time from referral to follow-up was an average of 90 days (455 days vs 365 days; P<0.0001) longer during the pandemic, compared with the waiting time experienced by the historical patients.