BACKGROUND: The opioid epidemic has motivated hand surgeons to explore alternatives to postoperative pain management. We retrospectively analyzed patients who declined participation in our double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing ibuprofen/acetaminophen to oxycodone after carpometacarpal arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to analyze patient considerations for declining participation to elucidate perspectives on postoperative pain control. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of eligible preoperative patients approached for our RCT between February 2021 and July 2024. Rationale for declining was recorded, and demographic and clinical characteristics were extracted. Associations between baseline demographic and clinical characteristics and reasons for declining were examined. RESULTS: = .15). CONCLUSIONS: Our study identifies a trend in patient beliefs about postoperative pain control following hand surgery with half of the declined cohort referencing opioid-related concerns. Hand surgeons should consider patient perspectives when developing future postoperative pain studies and implementing protocols.
Smith et al. (Mon,) studied this question.