Opioid Use, Storage, and Disposal Among Pediatric Patients After Surgery

Opioids are an important component of post-operative pain management among children, but are often prescribed in excess and rarely disposed of appropriately. The lack of prompt and proper opioid disposal after recovery from surgery is contributing to the opioid crisis in Ohio by placing children at risk of accidental ingestion of opioids remaining in the home and allowing for unused opioids to be diverted for non-medical use. The investigators propose to reduce the burden of the opioid crisis in Ohio by testing a strategy to increase proper opioid disposal by families of children undergoing outpatient surgery. The investigators will test the impact of a novel opioid disposal mechanism, the Deterra® drug deactivation system, after pediatric surgical operations. This system deactivates pills, liquids, or patches, allowing for their disposal in the home garbage. The investigators propose to evaluate the effectiveness of providing Deterra® bags to families of children having surgery on their disposal of excess opioids. The investigators will perform a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the effectiveness of Deterra® to improve opioid disposal among families of children having outpatient surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital.