United States opioid prescribing trends after shoulder surgery and their correlation with opioid misuse

Orthopedic surgeons successfully reduced the number of opioids prescribed nationally after shoulder surgeries by over 50% during our study period with similar trends seen at the state level. Our data indicate a relationship between increased opioid prescribing after shoulder surgery and heroin use. This study highlights that while progress has been made, there is evidence that opioid prescribing following shoulder surgery is associated with the more widespread opioid epidemic, and that more research is needed to further lower postoperative opioid misuse in the future.