Leftover Painkillers Often Fall into Wrong Hands.

• Position: OPIOID POISONING

Some 54% of opioids prescribed to patients after a surgical tooth extraction, such as removal of impacted wisdom teeth, remain unused three weeks after surgery, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, have determined. Extrapolating their findings to the U.S. population, they estimate more than 100,-000,000 unused opioid pills are left over from these types of surgeries each year, "leaving the door open for possible abuse or misuse by patients, or their friends or family."

Other studies have suggested up to 23% of prescription opioid doses are used nonmedically, and dentists prescribe approximately 12% of all immediate-release opioids.

Another study conducted by the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., found a significant increase in the rate of pediatric hospitalizations for prescription opioid poisonings. During the last 15 years, the annual incidence per 100,000 children rose 165%. The greatest increases were among children aged one to four.

"The latest study findings suggest that leftover prescription painkillers may be a key contributor to the current opioid epidemic and related hospitalizations," says Kent Runyon, compliance officer for Novus Medical Detox Center, New Port Richey, Fla. "While it's good that most patients stopped taking opioid analgesics as soon as they could manage their pain without them, those unused pills can pose a serious hazard if they are not disposed of properly."

Nearly 54% of those who engage in nonmedical use of pain relievers obtain the drugs from a friend or...