CHOP Surgeons Find Over-the-Counter Medications Control Pain after Elbow Surgery as Effectively as Opioids
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Children who take only ibuprofen or acetaminophen after routine elbow surgery report similar pain control to patients who take opioids, according to a new study by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, suggests surgeons can confidently recommend over-the-counter medications to patients after elbow and discontinue the routine prescription of opioids.
- PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Children who take only ibuprofen or acetaminophen after routine elbow surgery report similar pain control to patients who take opioids, according to a new study by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
- The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, suggests surgeons can confidently recommend over-the-counter medications to patients after elbow and discontinue the routine prescription of opioids.
- "This study provides support for recommending acetaminophen and ibuprofen to patients after elbow fracture surgery, which will improve opioid stewardship for this common surgery and potentially for others like it."
- Patients who did take opioids rarely took them for more than two days after surgery.