The overall objective of this study is to evaluate strategies to reduce unused opioids prescribed for pediatric acute post-surgical pain management.
Prescription opioids are abused by an estimated 12.5 million Americans, and accidental opioid overdose is the leading cause of injury death in the US. Many of these drugs originate from leftover prescription opioids related to postoperative overprescribing, lack of proper disposal, and unsafe home storage. Governmental guidelines indicate that leftover prescription opioids should be preferentially returned to a drug take back site; however, many people do not utilize these programs due to travel distance, lack of transportation, or other factors. The aims are to quantify the amount of unused opioids in the home following painful pediatric surgical procedures, investigate the impact of formal interventions on disposal of residual opioids in the home following these surgeries, and to identify current behaviors of adolescents and their family members in the handling of unused prescribed opioids.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
83
Patients will be provided with formal education about medication take back programs for left-over prescription medications. They will be provided with directions to the closest medication take back facility to their home, and directions to the closet medication take back facility near their post-operative clinic site, and instructed to dispose of any left-over oxycodone medication (at completion of analgesic therapy) through participating in medication take back.
Patients and their families will be provided with formal education about how to use the medication home disposal kit: Dispose Rx, provided with a Dispose Rx home disposal kit, and instructed to dispose of any left-over oxycodone prescription medications with this kit following completion of analgesic therapy.
Riley Hospital for Children/Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Children's Hospital of New Orleans/ LCMC Health
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Quantification of residual opioids.
Identify if there are left over opioid medications following completion of analgesic therapy, and if so, how many?
Time frame: Post-discharge days 8-10
Assess participation in medication take back through follow up phone interview questionnaire.
Assess the degree of participation in medication take back programs to dispose of any residual opioid medications following completion of analgesic therapy.
Time frame: Post-discharge days 8-10
Assess participation in medication home disposal through follow up phone interview questionnaire.
Assess the degree of participation in medication home disposal to dispose of any residual opioid medications following completion of analgesic therapy.
Time frame: Post-discharge days 8-10
Identify noncompliance/unsafe behaviors that contribute to retention of residual opioids through follow up phone interview questionnaire.
Identify noncompliance/unsafe behaviors that contribute to retention of residual opioids despite formal education to patients/families about medication take back and medication home disposal of residual medications at the completion of analgesic therapy.
Time frame: Post-discharge days 8-10
Average daily pain scores reported as values on Numerical Rating Scale.
Assess average daily pain scores for patients undergoing painful surgeries in the perioperative period and following discharge from the hospital. This will be obtained through numerical report on study specific calendar. Numerical values are reported as a minimum of zero and a maximum of 10 on the Numerical Rating Scale. 0 corresponds with no pain, 1 with lower pain, and 10 corresponds with the most severe pain.
Time frame: Preoperatively through post-discharge day #10
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Frequency of opioid consumption through follow up phone interview questionnaire.
Assess the frequency of daily oxycodone consumption and correlate consumption with self reported pain scores. This measure will ask for a self-reported numerical frequency of daily opioid medication use. When this medication is used, we ask patients to rate their pain on the Numerical rating Scale from 0 to 10. Zero corresponds with no pain, 10 corresponds with the most severe pain.
Time frame: Post-operative day 1 through post-discharge day 10