Background: The misuse and abuse of opioids, including overprescription, has led to the current opioid epidemic and national crisis. There is a national effort to eliminate the unnecessary prescription of opioids for analgesia.
Methods: Seventy patients were randomized to receive postoperative analgesia with either 5 mg hydrocodone with 325 mg acetaminophen (opioid control group) or 400 mg of ibuprofen [nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) experimental group]. Pain levels were assessed on postoperative days 1, 2, and 7. Outcome measures included numeric pain rating scores and assessments of frequency and amount of analgesic used.
Results: There was no significant difference in gender (p = 0.81) or age (p = 0.61) between groups. On postoperative day 0, the NSAID group (mean ± SD, 2.54 ± 1.57) was found to be noninferior to the opioid group (mean ± SD, 3.14 ± 1.75; p = 0.003). On postoperative day 1, the NSAID group showed a lower mean pain score (mean ± SD, 1.84 ± 1.29) than the opioid group (mean ± SD, 2.46 ± 1.90; p = 0.01). However, on postoperative day 7, the difference in pain scores between the NSAID (mean ± SD, 3.29 ± 2.14) and opioid (mean ± SD, 3.14 ± 2.12; p = 0.17) groups lost statistical significance. There was no significant difference in mean day of medication cessation between the NSAID (mean ± SD, 4.73 ± 1.57) and opioid (mean ± SD, 4.28 ± 2.23; p = 0.26) groups. Seventy-six percent of patients who were prescribed opioids took fewer than eight tablets. Five patients escalated from NSAIDs to opioids. There were no adverse effects related to NSAID use.
Conclusions: NSAIDs are an acceptable and safe alternative to opioids for postoperative analgesia in rhinoplasty and potentially lead to better overall pain control in some patients. Significantly reducing or eliminating opioid prescriptions may be considered in light of the current opioid epidemic.
Clinical question/level of evidence: Therapeutic, II.
Copyright © 2020 by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.