Storage and Disposal of Opioid Analgesics
Authors: Mark A. Liberatore, Judith A. Racoosin, Douglas C. Throckmorton
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters19 March 2019Storage and Disposal of Opioid AnalgesicsMark A. Liberatore, PharmD, RAC, Judith A. Racoosin, MD, MPH, and Douglas C. Throckmorton, MDMark A. Liberatore, PharmD, RACCenter for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland (M.A.L., J.A.R., D.C.T.)Search for more papers by this author, Judith A. Racoosin, MD, MPHCenter for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland (M.A.L., J.A.R., D.C.T.)Search for more papers by this author, and Douglas C. Throckmorton, MDCenter for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland (M.A.L., J.A.R., D.C.T.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L18-0694 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:We read Doucette and colleagues' report (1) with interest. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has identified safe storage and proper disposal of prescription opioid products as an essential element of its activities to address opioid misuse and abuse (2) and a crucial component of wider initiatives confronting the current opioid crisis (3). We appreciated the authors' efforts to characterize the important role that product labeling can play in communicating guidelines for the safe disposal of opioid analgesics to patients; however, their analysis did not acknowledge that the drug disposal information in the product labeling for ...References1. Doucette ML, Shields WC, Haring RS, Frattaroli S. Storing and disposing of opioid analgesics: what does our medicine tell us? Ann Intern Med. 2018;169:198-9. [PMID: 29710198]. doi:10.7326/M17-3381 LinkGoogle Scholar2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Timeline of selected FDA activities and significant events addressing opioid misuse and abuse. Accessed at www.fda.gov/downloads/drugs/drugsafety/informationbydrugclass/ucm332288.pdf on 25 April 2018. Google Scholar3. Woodcock J, Throckmorton DC. The FDA's approach to the prescription opioid problem. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2018;103:954-5. [PMID: 29570773] doi:10.1002/cpt.1055 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Disposal of unused medicines: what you should know. 2018. Accessed at www.fda.gov/drugdisposal on 25 April 2018. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland (M.A.L., J.A.R., D.C.T.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L18-0694. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoStoring and Disposing of Opioid Analgesics: What Does Our Medicine Tell Us? Mitchell L. Doucette , Wendy C. Shields , R. Sterling Haring , and Shannon Frattaroli Storage and Disposal of Opioid Analgesics Mitchell L. Doucette , Wendy C. Shields , R. Sterling Haring , and Shannon Frattaroli Metrics Cited byPostoperative Disposal of Unused Opioids: A Systematic Review 19 March 2019Volume 170, Issue 6Page: 431-432KeywordsAnalgesicsConflicts of interestDisclosureDrug informationDrugsHealth care providersOpioidsPatients ePublished: 19 March 2019 Issue Published: 19 March 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...