Safe Return and Disposal of Unused Opioids

NCT03352479 | Withdrawn

• 1 other identifier: H42451
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: N/A
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The opioid epidemic in the United States has become a clear health and safety concern for our children and families. Opioids given to our patients for the treatment of pain that go unused after the immediate post operative period pose a major hazard when left in the home unattended. Opioids can be accidentally ingested by small children or deliberately ingested by pre-teens and adolescents leading to major morbidity and or death. Additionally, studies have shown that many people addicted to opioids/narcotics have become so due to ingestion of medically prescribed drugs. Finally, there has been an increase number of home robberies specifically with the intent to steal prescription drugs. Removal of unused medication from the home is an important public safety concern to protect our patients, families and friends. The Sharps Co (R), offers a product called Takeaway Medication Recovery System. This product allows individuals to put unused opioids in a pre-paid envelope which is returned to the company through the postal system and properly incinerated. This provides safe disposal in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect the water table from contamination by drugs disposed of my other means. This system through the Sharps Co would allow for de-identified tracking of returned drugs.

Conditions

Opioid Use; Opioid Dependence; Opioid Abuse, Unspecified

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• % of prescribed unused opioids returned

  Calculate the percentage of opioids that are prescribed that are safely returned by participants and their families

  six months

Study Arms (1)

Opioids Prescribed

OTHER

Each participant in the study will be given an envelope for return of unused opioids. The percentage of returned number of opioids will be calculated based on the number prescribed

Other: Opioid Return

Interventions

Opioid Return OTHER

Calculate the percentage of prescribed to returned opioids

Opioids Prescribed

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: Up to 64 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• All patients being prescribed opioids at discharge in the Clinical Care Center/Wallace Tower Surgical Center or at the Woodlands Campus who have undergone a surgical procedure.

You may not qualify if:

• Parental Refusal to participate Patients not being prescribed opioids for discharge Patients on chronic opioid therapy/chronic pain patients International patients returning abroad (these takeaway envelopes are only paid through the 50 US states, DC and Puerto Rico)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Baylor College of Medicine: lead
• Chandrakantan: collaborator

Related Publications (1)

• Adler AC, Yamani AN, Sutton CD, Guffey DM, Chandrakantan A. Mail-Back Envelopes for Retrieval of Opioids After Pediatric Surgery. Pediatrics. 2020 Mar;145(3):e20192449. doi: 10.1542/peds.2019-2449. Epub 2020 Feb 12.

  PMID: 32051219 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Opioid-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Narcotic-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Model Details: Each participant will be given on envelope to return unused opioids

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 21, 2017
• First Posted: November 24, 2017
• Study Start: December 1, 2017
• Primary Completion: June 30, 2018
• Study Completion: July 30, 2018
• Last Updated: March 31, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-03