Anesthesiology News reports on study outcomes indicating postsurgical pain following common sports medicine procedures can be managed effectively with a nonopioid multimodal analgesic protocol that relies more on nonsteroidal and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Seth A. Waldman, MD, anesthesiologist and director of Pain Management at HSS, who wasn’t involved in the study, provided commentary on the findings stating, “Postoperative nonopioid treatment regimens have been published previously, and they are each important in that the entire body of work demonstrates that many surgeries can be performed with less exposure to opioids, and sometimes without opioids at all. Furthermore, such studies are evidence of a cultural change in perioperative medicine, which is driven by the need to improve patient safety and surgical outcomes.” Dr. Waldman added, “There is a recognition that successful recovery requires not only a satisfactory mechanical outcome, but one which minimizes the risk of addiction, overdose, diversion, opioid-induced hyperalgesia and persistent postoperative pain.”

He concluded, “It is important for clinicians and policymakers to keep in mind that there is still currently a role for the use of opioids, and that the elimination of opioids is not a goal in itself. There are very significant individual and public health risks associated with the use of opioids, but they remain very effective and should be used when necessary, at as low a dose as possible, and for as brief a time as possible.”

Read the full article at Anesthesiologynews.com.