Date of this Version

11-28-2022

Document Type

DNP Project

Abstract

Background: The opioid crisis has stemmed from the undertreatment of pain. This inadequacy has led to increased use of opioids and a rapid rise in opioid-related fatalities. Opioids are used extensively in the perioperative period because of their beneficial pain-relieving and conscious-altering properties. Patients are often sent home with prescriptions for these habit-forming medications, leading to tolerance, addiction, and potential overdoses. This is especially true for very painful procedures, such as orthopedics. As a result, healthcare providers are at the forefront of making a change in the trajectory of the opioid crisis. One method is to find safe and effective non-opioid modalities to control postoperative pain. One such modality is the use of cryotherapy.

Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed databases to find research articles within the last 6 years on the effects of cryotherapy on postoperative opioid consumption following orthopedic surgery.

Results: Five research articles were selected for review. The articles investigated the effect of cryotherapy on postoperative opioid consumption in orthopedic surgery patients. It was shown that cryotherapy reduces postoperative opioid consumption following orthopedic surgery.

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