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Use of activated charcoal bags increased in-home opioid disposal after elective surgery
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Patients were more likely to dispose unneeded opioids within 6 weeks of undergoing an elective surgical procedure if they received an activated charcoal bag for in-home disposal, according to a published research letter.
Chad Brummett, MD, and colleagues randomly assigned 208 participants who were prescribed opioids after undergoing an outpatient surgical procedure to receive usual care, an educational pamphlet with detailed instructions for locating Drug Enforcement Administration-registered disposal locations or an activated charcoal bag for opioid deactivation (Deterra Drug Deactivation System, Verde Technologies). Researchers inquired participants about postoperative opioid use and disposal of unused medications 4 to 6 weeks after the surgical procedure.
Results showed 57.1% of participants who received an activated charcoal bag reported disposing opioids compared with 33.3% of participants who received education regarding disposal locations and 28.6% of participants who received usual care. After adjusting for preoperative patient characteristics, researchers found participants who received a charcoal bag had 3.8-times greater odds of opioid disposal vs. participants who received usual care. Participants who received a charcoal bag were statistically significantly less likely to leave the home for disposal, according to results. Researchers also noted participants who received a charcoal bag reported less medication flushing or inappropriate garbage disposal.
“We see this as a scalable intervention that could greatly reduce the number of unused pills that are available for diversion and abuse,” Brummett, co-director of the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network and associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Michigan, told Healio.com/Orthopedics. “While we do not recommend its use in chronic opioid users, as they would be expected to use all of their pills, we can see a role for this or a similar role for all acute care prescriptions (eg, surgery, dentistry or emergency medicine).” – by Casey Tingle
Disclosures: Brummett reports he has a patent for Peripheral Perineural Dexmedetomidine licensed to the University of Michigan, is a consultant for Recro Pharma and Heron Therapeutics and receives research funding from Neuros Medical Inc. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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Brummett CM, et al. JAMA Surg. 2019;doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0155.
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