Opioid use and disposal at 2 weeks post-surgery: Brief communication regarding excess opioids and disposal habits

Abstract

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.