Impacting the Disposal of Unused Opioid

Rush

Status: Completed

Conditions: Opioid Use and Disposal

Treatments: Other: Pamphlet education + texts; Other: Pamphlet education

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04044105

18092505

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this study is to compare the rates of proper opioid disposal in patients receiving an educational brochure compared to an automated text message delivered directly to patients' cell phones alongside the brochure, compared to no education on the subject.

Full description

Opioids are used to treat acute pain after surgery, but can lead to misuse and abuse. Very few patients properly dispose of unused opioids and the majority of opioids are stored in the home in unlocked containers as opposed to being properly disposed of. Improper disposal of opioid medications is a concern due to the potential for nonmedical use and has the potential to cause injury or death for patients and their family members that can access the medications. The purpose of this study is to compare the rates of proper opioid disposal in patients receiving an educational brochure compared to an automated text message delivered directly to patients' cell phones alongside the brochure, compared to no education on the subject. There is evidence that an educational brochure significantly increases proper disposal rates, albeit only to about 25%. The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of an educational pamphlet on proper opioid disposal in the total joint arthoplasty population, and to see if the addition of a text messaging system can increase further increase proper disposal rates.

Enrollment: 563 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Any patient undergoing primary total hip or knee arthroplasty
• Age ≥18 years old

Exclusion criteria

• Patients allergic to oxycodone
• Patients consuming opioids during the 4 weeks prior to surgery
• Patients with a history of opioid dependence
• Patients undergoing revision total knee or hip arthroplasty
• Non-English speaking patients
• Age <18 years old

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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563 participants in 3 patient groups

No Education

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients in this arm receive no education regarding how to dispose of their opiate medication

Pamphlet education

Experimental group

Description:

Patients receive an educational pamphlet only, to be given at the preoperative teaching class, prior to their standard 3-week postoperative clinic appointment, and prior to their standard 6-week postoperative clinic appointment.

Treatment:

Other: Pamphlet education

Pamphlet education + texts

Experimental group

Description:

Patients receive an educational pamphlet, to be given at the preoperative teaching class, prior to their standard 3-week postoperative clinic appointment, and prior to their standard 6-week postoperative clinic appointment. In addition, 3 automated text messages sent at those same time points.

Treatment:

Other: Pamphlet education + texts