Opioid use and disposal at 2 weeks post-surgery: Brief communication regarding excess opioids and disposal habits
Henry Kuechly1, Sarah Kurkowski2, John Bonamer2
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7290-1081.
Objective:
To measure the number of unused prescription opioids and disposal habits of patients following orthopedic shoulder surgery.
Design:
A prospective observational study.
Setting:
Academic orthopedic sports medicine department.
Patients:
Sixty-seven patients undergoing shoulder surgery.
Interventions:
Nine-question opioid use questionnaire.
Main Outcome Measures:
Responses to an opioid use questionnaire were collected at 2 weeks post-surgery. Outcomes of interest included the amount of initial opioid prescription used and the disposal of excess opioids.
Results:
Sixty-seven patients completed the opioid use questionnaire. Forty-six (68.7 percent) patients reported having excess opioids at 2 weeks. Of the 46 patients with excess opioids, 57 percent disposed of the excess, and 43 percent planned to keep their opioids.
Conclusion:
Two-thirds of the patients reported having excess opioids, highlighting the issue of an overabundance of unused prescription opioids in America. Utilization of opioid-free pain management strategies and drug disposal kits should be explored to reduce the number of unused and improperly disposed opioids.
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