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Prescription Opioids Often Unused After Surgery

News  |  By John Commins  
   August 02, 2017

The review found that 67% to 92% of patients reported unused opioids. Of all the opioid tablets obtained by surgical patients, 42% to 71% went unused. In two studies examining storage safety, 73% to 77% of patients said that their prescription opioids were not stored in locked containers.  

More than two-thirds of patients said they did not use all of their prescription opioids after surgery and three-out-of-four patients were careless about where and how the drugs were stored or disposed of, according to a report today in JAMA Surgery.

Mark C. Bicket, MD, of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, led a review of six studies that involved 810 patients who underwent seven different surgical procedures. The researchers examined how commonly postoperative prescription opioids were unused, why they were unused, and what, if any, practices are followed regarding their storage and disposal.

The review found that 67% to 92% of patients reported unused opioids. Of all the opioid tablets obtained by surgical patients, 42% to 71% went unused. Most patients stopped or used no opioids owing to adequate pain control, and 16% to 29% of patients reported opioid-induced adverse effects.

In two studies examining storage safety, 73% to 77% of patients said that their prescription opioids were not stored in locked containers. All studies reported low rates of anticipated or actual disposal. No study reported U.S. Food and Drug Administration-recommended disposal methods in more than 9% of patients.

“Increased efforts are needed to develop and disseminate best practices to reduce the oversupply of opioids after surgery, especially given how commonly opioid analgesics prescribed by clinicians are diverted for nonmedical use and may contribute to opioid-associated injuries and deaths,” the authors write.

According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 3.8 million Americans engage in the nonmedical use of opioids every month.

The Johns Hopkins researchers said their study was limited because the six studies were of intermediate rather than high methodological quality, and the questionnaires completed by patients varied in form, structure, phrasing, and timing across the studies.

John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.


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