Abstract
ABSTRACT: Opioid overdose is a leading cause of death from unintentional injury in the United States. When more opioids are prescribed than needed, leftover opioids may be misused if not properly disposed. The purpose of this study is to describe the opioid use of subjects (aged 13-21 years) after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair. After obtaining IRB approval, we obtained consent from 100 subjects (over an 8-month period) undergoing ACL reconstructions performed by five sports medicine surgeons. The mean age of enrolled subjects was 16 years, most were female (60%) and white (72%). While in the hospital, many subjects received the following: a regional anesthetic technique through a single shot femoral nerve block (50%); ketorolac (89%); and acetaminophen (84%). One week after surgery, we interviewed subjects to determine the amount of opioid used (36%) as compared to the amount prescribed.