Self-Reported Cannabis Use Is Not Associated With Increased Opioid Use or Costs After Hip Arthroscopy

Abstract

Purpose: Our purpose is to determine the difference in cost, opioid use, and complication rates following hip arthroscopy with or without perioperative cannabis use.

Methods: Data were collected from a large commercial insurance database (PearlDiver) between the years 2010 and 2019. Patients who underwent hip arthroscopy with reported cannabis use were identified using Common Procedural Terminology codes and the appropriate International Classification of Diseases codes. This group was then matched by age, procedure, gender, Charleston Comorbidity Index, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index), obesity, tobacco use, diabetes to a group of similar patients without self-reported cannabis use. Opioid use over the episode of care, evaluated by morphine milligram equivalents (MME), and 30-day cost were compared between groups using unequal variance t-test.

Results: Of queried patients, 360 (.71%) had a diagnosis of preoperative cannabis use, abuse, or dependence within 5 years prior to their hip arthroscopy. A total of 300 patients (172 female, 128 male) were matched into each hip arthroscopy group, with and without cannabis. Of those patients, 171 without cannabis use and 174 with cannabis use had full financial and opioid use data for analysis. Prescription opioid use was not significantly different over the episode of care in patients with reported cannabis use (1,840 ± 2,743 MME) than those without reported cannabis use (2,129 ± 3,383 MME) (P = .3848). Additionally, episode of care reimbursement cost following hip arthroscopy did not differ significantly between patients with cannabis use ($2957 ± $4428) and those without reported cannabis use ($2,651 ± $3,762) (P = .3620).

Conclusions: Following hip arthroscopy, patients with reported cannabis use do not appear to have significantly different postoperative opioid use or cost of hip arthroscopy episode of care compared with patients without reported cannabis use.

Level of evidence: III, cohort study.