Avoiding Opioid Misuse After Surgery in the Era of the Opioid Epidemic : Defining the New Normal

Chronic pain patients at risk of addiction can be identified through pre-prescription screening with the opioid risk tool (ORT); there is no equivalent for surgical patients. Our aims were to validate the ORT in the surgical population and assess the impact of patient education on compliance with proper storage and disposal (S&D) of unused opioid therapy (UOT).

Each subject completed the ORT, prevideo and postvideo surveys, educational video viewing, and compliance survey. Aberrant behavior was assessed by questionnaire, chart review, and Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program review.

We recruited 24 subjects who underwent emergency surgery; 18 (of 24) were prescribed an opioid on discharge and 15 (of 18) were followed for 1 month. Before education, 38% (n = 9 of 24) of subjects identified proper UOT disposal and 63% (n = 15 of 24) identified safe handling of opioids. After education, 75% (n = 18 of 24) identified proper S&D. On ORT, 9 of 24 subjects (38%) scored moderate-risk to high-risk for opioid misuse. Half of subjects who demonstrated aberrant behavior (n = 7 of 12, 58%) scored in the low-risk range on ORT; 67% of subjects (n = 10 of 15) retained UOT, and 67% (n = 10 of 15) safely stored UOT. Few subjects (30%; n = 3 of 10) who stored their UOT reported proper disposal of UOT.

The ORT is not useful in identifying acute pain surgical patients at risk for aberrant behavior. An educational video increased awareness of, but not compliance with, safe S&D of UOT. Opioid overprescription continues to contribute to opioid misuse.