Opioids are powerful pain medications which currently serve a necessary role in recovery after knee or hip replacement surgery. However, opioids also pose a danger to both the patient and to other members of the household in the event of accidental overdose because they can cause respiratory depression and death. To minimize the risk of opioid overdose, patients are educated in appropriate use and storage of their medication. They are also provided with a prescription for naloxone. Naloxone is an emergency-use, potentially life-saving antidote to opioid pain medication. It can be sprayed into the nostrils of the opioid overdose victim by a non-medically trained bystander while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, and can make the difference between life and death for a child or adult. However, only about 30% of patients choose to fill their naloxone prescription when they go home from hospital after joint replacement surgery at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. The first purpose of this study is to evaluate whether teaching patients about opioid overdose and naloxone treatment influences whether patients fill their naloxone prescription and whether they can appropriately administer naloxone in the event of an overdose in the home. Additionally, this study will look at what factors, other than pre-surgery education, influence whether a patient fills their naloxone prescription or not. The resources available for opioid overdose prevention in the community are limited, and this study will help guide the effective use of those resources.

The participants in this study will be patients who are planning hip or knee replacement surgery. They will enroll together with their primary support person. Two hundred and fifty patient and primary-support-person pairs will be enrolled prospectively over a 9-month period. All participant pairs will be randomized to receive either only the current three-hour pre-operative Joint Class (which is mandatory for all patients with their support person and includes education on opioids and pain management), or to receive, in addition, a new educational module. The new module will consist of a modified version of the REVIVE! Course, a course designed for people without prior medical training on the recognition of an opioid overdose and appropriate response including naloxone administration. Participants will be asked to complete an enrollment questionnaire prior to the educational intervention, a 2-week Recovery Journal (pain and medication diary) following surgery, and a follow-up questionnaire at the first post-operative visit, 2 weeks after surgery. Patients will also receive a short, 3-4 item questionnaire 6 months after surgery to collect data on the risk of long-term opioid use and the outcome of the naloxone in the home.

Demographic and clinical data that is collected will be used to describe the study population and determine factors that act as barriers to effective opioid overdose reversal with naloxone in the home. This study will also examine the influence of education on the experience of the patient within the healthcare system, attitudes of patients towards opioids and naloxone, and patient safety. Standardized assessments that will be used to address these study questions include the Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS), the Opioid Overdose Attitude Scale (OOAS), and the PROMIS Pain Medication Misuse, Pain Intensity, and Pain Interference short forms.

There are few studies that examine the influence of naloxone education for the layperson, so evidence in this field is limited. This study is unique in that it moves the conversation from the arena of chronic pain management and opioid addiction and focuses on the population of patients managing acute pain before and after surgical procedures. Outcomes of this research will help to direct prevention resources by answering very topical questions about the usefulness and effects of naloxone co-prescription with opioids for acute pain.