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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04059055

Decreasing Unused Opioids in the Home Post Supracondylar Fracture Repair

Over the past two decades, the misuse of prescription opioids has significantly increased. A recent systematic review reported as much as 67% to 92% of opioids dispensed on discharge post-surgery go unused. This culture of overprescribing is consistently observed across surgical specialties. Less frequently observed is the potential for opioid use and misuse in children and adolescents post-surgery. The research to date in this area has been poorly performed with heterogenous data collection, analysis and reporting, as well as large loss of patients to follow-up.

The investigators' previous prospective observational deception study identified three areas of concern:

1. There is a culture of postoperative opioid over-prescribing at discharge as demonstrated by heterogenous opioid dosing and duration of treatments across practitioners for single procedures 2. This overprescribing is in excess of patients' home-requirements and results in significant quantities of leftover opioids 3. There is a culture of inappropriate storage and lack of safe disposal of prescribed opioids in the community

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Key information

Conditions

Pain Management Agnosia Nervous System Diseases Neurobehavioral Manifestations Neurologic Manifestations Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Perceptual Disorders Signs and Symptoms

Age range

0 year–18 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada

About this study

This study focuses on addressing and minimizing pediatric surgical over-prescribing. It aims to reduce the amount of opioids prescribed by focusing prescribers and families on regular use of simple non-opioid analgesics, as well as decreasing the amount of opioids prescribed and dispensed.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients with supracondylar fractures undergoing surgical wire placement or pinning that return to fracture clinic at three weeks for removal of pins/wires.
  • Patients discharged on the weekday.
  • Families filling a prescription for opioids at Shoppers Drug Mart at SickKids Hospital.
  • Parent has strong command of the English language (i.e., no interpreter required).

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients with a history of chronic pain.
  • Patient used opioid medication within the previous 6 months.
  • Patients who are discharged on the weekend (as participant emails will need to be entered into redcap the day of recruitment, for data collection to commence the next morning).

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Pain medication use questionnaire

    Time frame: 3 days following discharge from hospital

    Recording of how many pain meds were used at home

Secondary outcomes

  1. Amount of opioid returned

    Time frame: 3 weeks following discharge (aligns with pin/wire removal at fracture clinic)

    Recording of how much opioid was returned to the hospital

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

The Hospital for Sick Children

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Aug 16, 2019
Registry last updated
Dec 17, 2021

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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