Editorial Commentary: Postoperative Analgesia After Arthroscopy: A Step Toward the Personalization of Pain Control.

Abstract

Identification of risk factors for prolonged opioid use is imperative as opioid misuse continues to plague society. Recent data suggest that many modifiable and nonmodifiable patient factors may be associated with prolonged opioid use after arthroscopic meniscal surgery. Surgeons and patients share the burden of the opioid epidemic and must collaborate to decrease the overall opioid burden on society. As the number of tools to treat pain and the knowledge of at-risk patients grow, standardized postoperative narcotic regimens to treat a diverse population of patients are no longer acceptable; narcotic regimens must be customized to each patient. To limit opioid use and enhance patient outcomes, it is apparent that the next frontier of postoperative pain control is upon us: the personalization of pain control.