In a study published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, researchers from the University of California study the effects of I.V. acetaminophen on total hip and knee replacement surgery.
Here are five key notes:
1. Researchers analyzed matched pairs of adult inpatients who underwent elective total hip arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty.
2. The study sought to determine the effects of I.V. acetaminophen on adverse events, hospital length of stay and overall hospital costs for these procedures.
3. The surgeries were conducted from January 2011 to November 2012 at hospitals participating in the Premier Healthcare Alliance.
4. Patients that received I.V. acetaminophen on the day of surgery were matched to a control patient within the same hospital who did not received it, totaling 22,146 cases and controls.
5. Results showed that overall adverse events were significantly lower with I.V. acetaminophen (24.3 percent) than with controls (26.3 percent), as well as being associated with shorter hospital length of stays and lower average hospital costs.