In an interview with Pharmacy Times, William J. Peppard, PharmD, pain stewardship coordinator at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin and coauthor of a retrospective suzetrigine study, discusses findings suggesting that the nonopioid medication could help reduce postoperative opioid prescribing after total knee arthroplasty.
In an interview with Pharmacy Times, William J. Peppard, PharmD, pain stewardship coordinator at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin and coauthor of a retrospective suzetrigine study, discusses findings suggesting that the nonopioid medication could help reduce postoperative opioid prescribing after total knee arthroplasty.
Patients receiving suzetrigine as part of an existing multimodal pain regimen were less likely to require an opioid refill at 2 weeks and more likely to be opioid-free at 6 weeks than patients in a historical control group. Peppard emphasizes that these differences occurred without worsening measured pain scores or functional recovery. From a stewardship perspective, the value lies in reducing reliance on opioids while preserving outcomes that matter to patients.
However, Peppard cautions that the study demonstrates an association rather than a cause-and-effect relationship. Investigators reviewed medical records and consulted providers to assess whether other aspects of care changed during the study period, but the retrospective design cannot eliminate potential confounding. A concurrent health system initiative reduced postoperative gabapentin use, which he believes would have made it more difficult to demonstrate suzetrigine’s benefit.
Peppard also addresses the distinction between opioid prescribing and actual consumption. Prescription records and refill requirements provide useful estimates, but they cannot establish precisely how many tablets patients took at home. Medication diaries or pill counts would help future research assess opioid exposure more directly.
Although prescribing is an imperfect surrogate, Peppard explains that broader population research on opioid-related harms also relies on prescribing data, making these findings relevant to existing stewardship measures. The discussion offers pharmacists a framework for interpreting an encouraging postoperative signal while recognizing the evidence needed to confirm its clinical implications. For pharmacy teams, the central takeaway is to evaluate prescribing reductions alongside recovery outcomes and remain clear about what retrospective prescription data can reliably establish.
