Long-term compliance of patients with osteoporosis treatment and its effect to fracture occurrence.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term treatment of patients with osteoporosis being actively managed by medical staff and following the therapeutic methods and principles of treatment of osteoporosis. METHODS: The medical records of patients which were examined in an osteological outpatient office first time in the year 2009 were reviewed. The results of densitometry examinations were compared with the results from the year 2019. Patients regularly absolved densitometry, properly and regularly took prescribed medicaments for either anti-osteoporotic treatment or for supplementation of vitamin D and calcium. The cohort consisted of 100 patients. Next, we split the group into 3 categories - less than 65 years of age, 65-75 years of age and lastly over 75 years of age. By default, we assessed and compared the T-scores (deviation from the average value of bone density of 30 years old healthy person) in the area of the proximal femur and in the area of the lumbar spine. The bone mineral density (BMD) values in g/cm2 and their relation to corresponding T-score from set area were also reviewed. RESULTS: Based on the results of densitometry, osteoporosis was diagnosed in 41 patients, manifest osteoporosis in 14 and osteopenia in 36, nine patients had their bone density value within the normal range. The average T-score values of "total hip" were -1.42, "neck" -2.08, BMD values of "total hip" were 0.802 g/cm2, "L1-L4" -2.05, "L total" -1.45, and BMD of "L total" was 0.886 g/cm2. In the time of the last examination, the T-score (disregarding the type of treatment) raised from the initial value by 40.16% in the area of lumbar spine, by 56.69% in the area of "total hip", and by 40.16% in the area of "neck". While sorting the cohort based on age, we detected a similar effect of active management of treatment in each of the 3 categories. CONCLUSION: Cooperation of the patients during the treatment of a chronic disease requiring long-term usage of medicaments is often problematic and it is necessary to devote adequate attention to it. The solution to improve the treatment can be active management of the patient by the medical facility or by the medical staff.

A multimodal opioid-sparing pain management following total knee replacement.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to compare the pain scores, opioid consumption, and range of motion of the operated knee after total knee replacement (TKR) in the 10-day follow-up period between a traditional opioid-containing pain management protocol and a multimodal opioid-sparing treatment protocol. METHODS: This prospective, randomized, single-center study included 90 patients (24 men and 66 women; mean age 69.7±7.2 years) undergoing TKR for osteoarthritis between October 2019 and October 2020. Patients were randomized into 3 cohorts for comparison: traditional opioid-containing pain management protocol (n=30), multimodal opioid-sparing pain management protocol (n=30), and traditional opioid-containing pain management protocol with additional local infiltration analgesia (LIA). Changes in visual analog scale for pain (VAS), range of motion (ROM), and opioid consumption were compared between groups. RESULTS: A lower mean postoperative VAS score was observed in the opioid-sparing cohort, which was statistically significant at all time points compared with the traditional cohorts. Mean total morphine consumption was significantly lower in the opioid-sparing cohort (2.7±5.8 MMEs) compared to the traditional (14.0±14.8 MMEs) and traditional with LIA cohorts (8.3±9.5 MMEs; p<0.05). The mean degree of flexion of the operated knee of patients was significantly greater in patients in the opioid-sparing group than in the other groups on the postoperative day 3 (opioid-sparing: 87.0±11.2°; traditional: 74.1±11.6°; traditional with LIA: 84.7±8.9°; p<0.05), as well as on day 10 (opioid-sparing: 99.3±10.8°; traditional: 87.3±12.4°; traditional with LIA: 92.5±9.7°; p<0.05). The rate of adverse events after TKR did not differ between the groups. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that a multimodal opioid-sparing pain protocol after TKR, which includes oral non-opioid medications and periarticular injection with bupivacaine, provides better pain relief and early functional gains with fewer rescue opioids compared to traditional opioid-based protocols (Tab. 4, Fig. 2, Ref. 22).