10/26/2015 Young People Receive More Pain Relievers Than They Need http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/853243?src=stfb 1/2 MULTISPECIALTY What Do Pediatricians Think About MOC? Lithium Effective for Bipolar Disorder in Children Disaster Preparedness Should Focus on Children's Needs Neonatal Hypoglycemia Not Tied to Poor Neurological Outcomes Comment Print Email All that leftover medication is left in the medicine cabinet. That's a catastrophe that we're contributing to. Medscape Medical News from the Anesthesiology 2015 from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Medscape Medical News > Conference News Young People Receive More Pain Relievers Than They Need Laird Harrison October 26, 2015 SAN DIEGO — There is an increase in the risk for drug abuse because physicians prescribe more opioids than necessary to control children's pain, a new study indicates. "We have an ethical and moral duty to treat pain, but right now we are dispensing more medication than we need," said Myron Yaster, MD, from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. In the United States, the gateway to drug abuse is the nonmedical use of prescription opioids. "All that leftover medication is left in the medicine cabinet. That's a catastrophe that we're contributing to," Dr Yaster told Medscape Medical News. He presented the research here at Anesthesiology 2015. Dr Yaster's team interviewed 292 parents of patients 1 to 21 years of age who were discharged in the previous 2 days with an opioid prescription, and interviewed them again 8 to 12 days later. In the study cohort, weight ranged from 8.4 kg to 168.0 kg, and 89% of the patients were prescribed oxycodone (44% in a liquid formulation). Fifteen patients (5%) did not fill their prescriptions, and 71 (25%) misidentified or did not know the name of the opioid prescribed. Patients took opioids for an average of 5 days (range, 0 13 days). Pain control was rated as excellent by 47% of patients, good by 34%, fair by 10%, and poor by 0%; pain control was unrated by 9%. "We did a great job at treating the pain," Dr Yaster reported. On average, however, patients used only 42% of their prescription. Fourteen days after discharge, an average of 36.4 tablets remained unused, as did 66.8 mL of liquid opioids. But most families didn't know what to do with the leftover medication. Only 6% got rid of it at the end of the therapy; 82% received no information on how to dispose of it. That's a problem because it creates a "big stockpile" of leftover medication, said one of the study researchers, Aaron Hsu, MHS, also from Johns Hopkins. Previous research has shown that friends and family are the most common sources of illegally obtained medication, he told Medscape Medical News. Gateway to Drug Abuse In this study, the average patient had one sibling, and 46% had a sibling 12 years or older. "That population is highly susceptible to diverting these drugs," he explained. MOST POPULAR ARTICLES According to PHYSICIANS 1. Ex Insurance Exec Reveals How He Outbargained Physicians 2. Sitting Time Not Associated With Risk of Death? 3. Mediterranean Diet Linked to Larger Brain Volume 4. How to Talk to Your Patients About Sex 5. How to Manage Muscle Pain in Patients on Statins VIEW MORE EDITORS' RECOMMENDATIONS Opioid Abuse a Public Health, Not Law Enforcement, Issue US Prescription Opioid Epidemic Escalating Drug Diversion and What Doctors Can Do RELATED DRUGS & DISEASES Opioid Abuse Opioid Toxicity Opioid Equivalents and Conversions