Abstract
Declared a public health emergency in 2017 and leading to 11 million years of life lost worldwide, the American opioid crisis has impacted millions of people, with up to 7 million experiencing opioid use disorder. In orthopaedic surgery, opioid analgesia has been associated with various complications, including infections, deep vein thrombosis, prolonged hospital stays, and overall inferior outcomes after surgical procedures. Orthopaedic surgeons commonly rely on opioids to provide postoperative analgesia and may frequently encounter patients with opioid use disorder. It is therefore essential that orthopaedic surgeons understand opioid use disorder, its effect on orthopaedic outcomes, and management of opioid use disorder in the context of surgical procedures. This review provides a background on opioid use disorder, a brief history of the American opioid epidemic, an overview of medications used to manage opioid use disorder, and recommendations on the management of these medications in the perioperative period.
Recommended Citation
Curtis, William; Nicholas Newcomb; Eric S. Kruger; and Christopher L. Shultz. "A Brief History of Opioid-Use Disorder in the United States, Effect on Orthopaedics, and Current Management Options." Western Journal of Orthopaedics 14, 1 (2025). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/wjo/vol14/iss1/4