• Mark C Bicket, Denise Fu, Meghan D Swarthout, Elizabeth White, Suzanne A Nesbit, and Constance L Monitto.
• Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Pain Med. 2021 Apr 20; 22 (4): 961-969.

ObjectiveTo determine how passively providing informational handouts and/or drug disposal kits affects rates of leftover prescription opioid disposal.DesignA multi-arm parallel-group randomized controlled trial with masked outcome assessment and computer-guided randomization.SettingJohns Hopkins Health System outpatient pharmacies.SubjectsIndividuals who filled ≥1 short-term prescription for an immediate-release opioid for themselves or a family member.MethodsIn June 2019, 499 individuals were randomized to receive an informational handout detailing U.S. Food and Drug Administration-recommended ways to properly dispose of leftover opioids (n = 188), the informational handout and a drug disposal kit with instructions on its use (n = 170), or no intervention (n = 141) at prescription pickup. Subjects were subsequently contacted by telephone, and outcomes were assessed by a standardized survey. The primary outcome was the use of a safe opioid disposal method.ResultsBy 6 weeks after prescription pickup, 227 eligible individuals reported they had stopped taking prescription opioids to treat pain and had leftover medication. No difference in safe disposal was observed between the non-intervention group (10% [6/63]) and the group that received disposal kits (14% [10/73]) (risk ratio = 1.44; 95% confidence interval: 0.55 to 3.74) or the group that received a fact sheet (11% [10/91]) (risk ratio = 1.15; 95% confidence interval: 0.44 to 3.01).ConclusionsThese findings suggest that passive provision of a drug disposal kit at prescription pickup did not increase rates of leftover opioid disposal when compared with provision of a fact sheet alone or no intervention. Active interventions may deserve further investigation.© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

14 keywords...

hide…