Patients with a history of preoperative opioid use can expect improvements after reverse shoulder arthroplasty procedures, according to a study published in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery.
Researchers identified 68 after reverse shoulder arthroplasty procedures performed for rotator cuff tear arthroplasty in a prospective shoulder arthroplasty registry. Thirty-two patients with a history of preoperative opioid use for shoulder pain were compared with a control group of 36 patients who did not use opioids preoperatively.
The study found that both groups significantly improved on all shoulder function scores and for range of motion measurements from the preoperative to the final follow-up assessment, two years later. However, the non-opioid group had significantly better outcomes. The magnitude of change between the groups from preoperatively to the final follow-up was nearly identical.
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