Researchers from New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City demonstrated that patients receiving Ibuprofen post-surgery with a rescue prescription of Percocet used less opioids than patients prescribed only Percocet, reports EurekAlert.
The findings were presented at the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine's Annual Meeting on July 11.
Three insights:
1. Forty randomized patients undergoing arthroscopic shoulder instability repair were divided into two groups.
2. One group received 600 milligrams of Ibuprofen and a 10-pill rescue prescription of Percocet 5/325mg and the other group just received Percocet 5/325mg.
3. Results showed that the total amount of opioid consumption was significantly less in the group that received both Ibuprofen and Percocet.
"It is possible to alleviate postoperative pain with lower amounts of opioids than are currently being prescribed," said Kamali Thompson, MD, lead researcher in the study. "The public health crisis of opioid abuse requires an immediate solution beginning with the reduction of postoperative narcotics distribution."