Background: Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is the standard of care for treatment of symptomatic acetabular dysplasia. Patients undergoing PAO for acetabular dysplasia have postoperative pain that can be managed with epidural analgesia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the timing of the discontinuation of epidural analgesia on pain, opioid usage, and hospital length of stay (LOS). The study hypothesis was that removal of the epidural catheter on postoperative day 1 (POD1) would lead to reduced overall opioid usage and LOS compared with removal on POD2.
Methods: This is a retrospective before-and-after observational review of the impact of discontinuing epidural analgesia on POD1 versus POD2 in terms of in-hospital pain, opioid usage, and LOS. Baseline patient factors such as age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) as well as outcomes including mean and median of daily pain, total oral morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) used per day, and LOS were recorded. Descriptive and comparative statistical analyses including multivariable main-effects linear regression modeling were performed to evaluate the impact of the timing of epidural removal on outcomes.
Results: Directly comparing outcomes for the day of epidural removal, patients with removal on POD1 had significantly less pain (mean of 4.6 versus 5.1 on the numeric rating scale [NRS], p = 0.033) and opioid usage (130.7 versus 200.4 MMEs, p < 0.001) than patients with removal on POD2. Additionally, LOS (3.3 versus 4.6 days, p < 0.001) and total opioid usage (333.0 versus 674.8 MMEs, p < 0.001) were significantly reduced in patients with epidural removal on POD1. These results persisted in multivariable analyses that were adjusted for age, sex, and BMI.
Conclusions: This study demonstrated that patients with epidural removal on POD1 have significantly lower pain and an overall decrease in opioid usage on the date of epidural removal compared with patients undergoing epidural removal on POD2. Additionally, they have a shorter LOS as well as lower total opioid usage. Decreasing the duration of epidural usage may reduce pain, opioid usage, and LOS in patients undergoing PAO.
Level of evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.