Opioid use disorder affects over 2.1 million Americans each year and in 2023, over 81,000 deaths due to overdoses were attributed to opioids.
According to sources, there are around 60 million orthopedic injuries each year in the United States with many of them requiring surgical repair. Historically, anesthesia care for these patients included opioids and recently, administration of peripheral nerve blocks has been utilized to decrease the number of opioids used for anesthetic management. In some cases, however, peripheral nerve blocks cannot be used depending on factors such as primary injury, site of injury, surgeon preference, and facilities capabilities. In these cases, anesthesia providers must be knowledgeable of the non-opioid medications available to manage pain and be able to develop a patient centered plan of care using them.
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the specific pain pathways associated with orthopedic trauma surgery.
Discuss non-opioid medications and their use in orthopedic trauma cases.
Develop a patient centered plan of care for opioid free anesthetic management in orthopedic trauma cases.
