Drug use rises and then falls after total hip replacement – new figures

Total hip replacement is one of the most common types of joint replacement, and new data published in Pain suggests that the procedure makes a definite difference to the use of prescription drugs for pain and insomnia.
A team from Norway analysed medication use by nearly 40,000 people having total hip replacement. Average age was 68.5 years and about 75% had the operation due to osteoarthritis.

They found that use of pain medication tended to increase in the year before hip-replacement surgery, with a further increase immediately afterwards, followed by a long-term decrease.

There was little or no change in the use of antidepressants, suggesting that depression in people having hip replacement isn’t necessarily related to hip pain. Hypnotic drug use shows a similar trend, suggesting that sleep problems get worse, then improve with long-term pain relief after total hip replacement.

“Patients with chronic pain are frequent users of analgesic and psychotropic drugs and thereby risk adverse drug events,” says Dr Tone Blågestad.
“Overall, the present results extend the positive effects of total hip arthroplasty to include reduced reliance on medication to alleviate symptoms. Our results warrant attention to the increased risk of adverse medication effects occurring with the increased use of both opioids and hypnotics in the recovery phase.”

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Click here to read the original research.