Clinical trial NCT05169281: Distribution of Medication Disposal Packets - Acute Opioid Prescribing
Official title: Cluster Randomized Trial of a Mailed At-home Kit on Disposal of Unused Opioids Following Surgery
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Orthopedic Surgery
Neurosurgery
Surgery
Opioid Use
Opioid Misuse
Keywords: Opioid Prescribing
Mobile Health
Quality Improvement
Learning Health Systems
Lead sponsor: University of Pennsylvania
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-12-23
Enrollment: 657
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 99
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Many prescription opioids following surgery are left unused and are at risk of being misused or diverted. Encouraging proper disposal is important, yet motivating this behavior remains challenging as patients must understand the risks of opioids, the benefits of disposal, and identify opportunities and places to dispose of them safely. Alternative disposal techniques can improve disposal rates but may be lost or forgotten. Applying behavioral economics techniques may lower the barriers and promote disposal. The objective is to test the effect of a specifically timed, mailed, at-home kit on disposal rates following surgery.

Detailed description: A pragmatic, cluster-randomized quality improvement study embedded in an existing automated, post-operative text messaging program to capture patient-reported outcomes (e.g., pain score, opioid use, ability to manage pain) and disposal as part of usual care. It was approved by the University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board with a waiver of informed consent.

All patients, 18 years or older, undergoing an orthopedic or urologic procedure and prescribed an opioid were approached and consented via text messaging. Patients without access to a text message capable device or non-English speaking were excluded. Participants were block randomized to usual care or a mailed at-home disposal packet. Usual care consisted of a text message hyperlink to nearby disposal locations. Intervention participants were mailed an at-home disposal packet timed to arrive between post-operative days four and seven based on prior data collection on reported use. The disposal packet (DisposeRx Inc.) contains a powder that sequesters unused opioids in a polymer gel. Patients self-reported disposal via the automated system.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adults 18 or older
* Undergoing an orthopedic or urologic procedure
* Prescribed an opioid
* SMS capable mobile device
* English speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

* Under 18
* Does not own a text message capable mobile phone
* non-English speaking

Primary outcomes:
measure: Self-Reported Opioid Disposal
timeFrame: The duration of the study; two months
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Philadelphia
country: United States
facility: University of Pennsylvania
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
name: Anish Agarwal, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
name: Daniel Lee, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of Pennsylvania
name: Zarina Ali, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Hill MV, McMahon ML, Stucke RS, Barth RJ Jr. Wide Variation and Excessive Dosage of Opioid Prescriptions for Common General Surgical Procedures. Ann Surg. 2017 Apr;265(4):709-714. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000001993.
citation: Bicket MC, Long JJ, Pronovost PJ, Alexander GC, Wu CL. Prescription Opioid Analgesics Commonly Unused After Surgery: A Systematic Review. JAMA Surg. 2017 Nov 1;152(11):1066-1071. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2017.0831.
citation: Kennedy-Hendricks A, Gielen A, McDonald E, McGinty EE, Shields W, Barry CL. Medication Sharing, Storage, and Disposal Practices for Opioid Medications Among US Adults. JAMA Intern Med. 2016 Jul 1;176(7):1027-9. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.2543. No abstract available.
citation: Brummett CM, Steiger R, Englesbe M, Khalsa C, DeBlanc JJ, Denton LR, Waljee J. Effect of an Activated Charcoal Bag on Disposal of Unused Opioids After an Outpatient Surgical Procedure: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Surg. 2019 Jun 1;154(6):558-561. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2019.0155.
citation: Agarwal Anish K., Ali Zarina S., Sennett Brian, et al. An Automated Text Messaging Program to Inform Postoperative Opioid Prescribing. NEJM Catal [Internet] [cited 2021 Feb 18];2(3). Available from: https://doi.org/10.1056/CAT.20.0440
citation: Agarwal AK, Lee D, Ali Z, Sennett B, Xiong R, Hemmons J, Spencer E, Abdel-Rahman D, Kleinman R, Lacko H, Horan A, Dooley M, Hume E, Mehta S, Delgado MK. Patient-Reported Opioid Consumption and Pain Intensity After Common Orthopedic and Urologic Surgical Procedures With Use of an Automated Text Messaging System. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Mar 1;4(3):e213243. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.3243.