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Patients Undergoing Joint Replacement at Risk for Respiratory Events

By Kristin Della Volpe

A large percentage of patients undergoing joint replacement may have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), suggesting the need for use of non-opioid analgesics in managing postoperative pain in this population, reported research led by R. Hamill-Ruth, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia.1

This retrospective chart review of 101 patients undergoing joint replacement showed that 31% of hip replacement patients and 53% of total knee replacement patients were either previously diagnosed with OSA or had probable OSA based on a screening measure given after surgery. In a previous study, the researchers found that 38% of doses of naloxone (a treatment for opioid overdose) were given to orthopedic patients with a body mass index >30, suggesting the need for awareness of the potential for respiratory events and need for opioid-sparing analgesia in these patients.

Reference

  1. Hamill-Ruth R, Kipp A, Rome R, Gochenour E. High risk of obstructive sleep apnea in total joint replacement patients. Pain. 2011. doi:10.1016/j.jpain.2011.02.109.
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