State Regulation Positively Impacts Opioid Prescribing Patterns in Ankle Fracture Surgery: A National and State-Level Analysis

Abstract

Category: Ankle; Trauma Introduction/Purpose: The impact of time and state regulation on opioid prescribing in orthopaedic trauma is not well known. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of time and state-level opioid legislation on 90-day perioperative opioid prescribing in ankle fracture surgery from 2010 - 2019. Methods: This is a retrospective, cohort study using a national insurance database including commercial insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, and cash pay patients to evaluate 90-day perioperative opioid prescription filling in 40,286 patients ages 18 and older undergoing Current Procedural Terminology codes 27766, 27769, 27792, 27814, 27822, and/or 27823 between 2010 and 2019 in all 50 United States. The primary study outcome was initial and cumulative 90-day perioperative opioid prescription filling and rates of filling and refills. Results: Mean first prescription volume has not changed dramatically from 2010 (37 oxycodone 5-mg pills) to 2019 (33.3 oxycodone 5-mg pills). However, cumulative prescriptions within the 90-day perioperative timeframe have decreased considerably from 2010 (128.5 oxycodone 5-mg pills) to 2019 (70.4 oxycodone 5-mg pills, p<0.001), and cumulative prescription filling in years 2018 and 2019 was significantly less than in 2010. Legislation targeting duration or duration and volume had the largest impacts on initial and cumulative opioid prescribing (approximately 14-22 fewer oxycodone 5-mg pills filled in states with legislation compared to states without legislation, p<0.001). The figure shows state-level pre-act and post-act cumulative 90-day opioid prescribing in ankle fracture surgery. Conclusion: In ankle fracture surgery, cumulative opioid prescribing has decreased dramatically over time. In addition, states with opioid prescribing legislation had larger reductions in perioperative opioid prescribing compared to states without opioid legislation. Legislation targeting duration or duration and volume had the largest impacts on opioid prescribing.