A new smartphone app found to lower pain scores and decrease the use of opioids after surgery
Patients who underwent total knee replacement and used a smartphone app (PainCoach) at home after surgery consistently reduced opiate painkiller use and improved pain control. New research presented at this year’s Euroanaesthesia Congress (the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology) in Vienna, Austria revealed the success of the app.
Longer term use of opioids can lead to physical dependence and difficulty stopping use. Misuse of prescription painkillers is a growing public health problem worldwide.
“These are important findings given the current demands on the healthcare system and the growing misuse of prescription painkillers worldwide”, said author Dr Amar Sheombar from Kliniek ViaSana in the Netherlands.
The mobile app allows patients to input their pain level as no pain, bearable pain, unbearable pain, or untenable pain. Based on this information and the amount of days after surgery, the app offers advice on drug pain relief use and exercises or rest
Researchers randomly assigned 71 patients (aged 56-70 years) undergoing total knee replacement to the app and usual care (38 patients) or usual care alone (33) in the first 2 weeks at home after surgery.
The mobile app allows patients to input their pain level as no pain, bearable pain, unbearable pain, or untenable pain. Based on this information and the amount of days after surgery, the app offers advice on drug pain relief use and exercises or rest.
Questionnaires were used to establish opiate use (oxycodone) and pain levels at rest, during activity, and at night, as well as other pain drug use. Participants completed questionnaires preoperatively, daily during the first two weeks, and after 1 month.
Compared to the control group, users of the PainCoach app used 23% less opiates and 15% more paracetamol in the first 2 weeks following surgery.
Regular or active use of the app (at least 12 uses of the app over 2 weeks) led to further reduction in opiate use and improved pain control during activity and at night. Regular app users (19 patients) reported four times faster reduction in pain during activity, six times faster reduction in pain at night, and 44% less opiate and 76% less gabapentin use (taken to relieve nerve pain) compared to controls. Opiate use was substituted by 21% more paracetamol use in regular app users.
