Patient Utilization of Opioid Destruction Bags in the Post-op Period

This is a study on how patients use and store opioid pain medications at home after surgery and what happens to left over pills when patients are done taking them. Participants will be taught the proper storage and destruction of opioid pain medications, then contacted in 6-8 weeks about pain medication used, stored disposed of.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Opioid Use; Total Knee Arthoplasty; Total Hip Arthroplasty; Patient Empowerment; Opioid Use, Unspecified
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Opioid destruction education

Detailed Description

This is a randomized single-center prospective survey study to describe the utilization of opioid destruction bags in the post-operative period. Participants who underwent surgery for Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) or Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) will be eligible for inclusion if discharging to home with an opioid prescription. Eligible participants will be randomized between two groups: 1) Control group will receive current standard of care 2) Intervention group will receive a specialized handout and patient education on the safe storage of opioid medications, importance of opioid destruction, opioid destruction options and medication destruction (Deterra) bag before discharge. Participants will be phoned/emailed six to eight weeks post-surgery to complete a survey. Attempts will be made on three separate days to reach the participant via phone. If email is preferred, three reminders will be sent to complete the survey. If participant is unreachable, they will be considered lost to follow up. Survey questions will be comprised of various question styles, including: yes/no, multiple choice, and free text answers.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 163
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Nebraska
    • Omaha, Nebraska, United States, 68198
      • University of Nebraska Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

19 years of age or older Discharging to home and prescribed opioids at discharge post total knee arthroplasty or total hip arthroplasty

Exclusion Criteria:

Under 19 years of age Opioid medication use prior to surgery Not prescribed an opioid to take after discharge

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Control group will receive current standard of care education and surveys at 6-8 weeks post discharge.
Experimental: Intervention; Intervention group will receive a specialized handout and patient education on the safe storage of opioid medications, importance of opioid destruction, opioid destruction options and medication destruction (Deterra) bag before discharge. Surveys will be sent to group at 6-8 weeks post discharge.	Behavioral: Opioid destruction education; Intervention group will receive a specialized handout and patient education on the safe storage of opioid medications, importance of opioid destruction, opioid destruction options and medication destruction (Deterra) bag before discharge.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Opioid destruction	Number of patients who report they did or plan to destroy unused opioids	Six to Eight weeks post discharge

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Education	Number of patients who recall patient education on storage and disposal of opioid medications at discharge	Six to Eight weeks post discharge
Opioid Storage	Type of opioid storage method used at home	Six to Eight weeks post discharge
Opioid Destruction Method	Type of opioid destruction method used or plan to use	Six to Eight weeks post discharge
Leftover Pills	Estimated number of pills leftover after completion of therapy	Six to Eight weeks post discharge

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Nebraska
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Kristin R Daniel, PharmD, University of Nebraska

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 19, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 31, 2025
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 4, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 16, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): May 25, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 29, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 27, 2026
• Last Verified: January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Patient Participation; Physiological Effects of Drugs; Peripheral Nervous System Agents; Central Nervous System Depressants; Sensory System Agents; Analgesics; Narcotics; Analgesics, Opioid
• Other Study ID Numbers: 0277-22-EP

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No