Recognizing and Reducing the Risk of Opioid Misuse in Orthopaedic Practice

Orthopaedic surgeons often treat patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. This musculoskeletal pain is increasingly being treated with opioid medications, contributing to the growing opioid epidemic in the United States. Opioid use and abuse before orthopaedic surgery are associated with worse clinical outcomes. This article reviews the risk factors for opioid use, misuse, and other behaviors in chronic pain patients, discusses the screening tools for opioid misuse in chronic pain patients, and provides recommendations for the orthopaedic surgeon’s role in managing these complicated patients. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 25(4):238–243, 2016) Key words: chronic pain, misuse, opioid, orthopaedic surgery, substance abuse