Sex differences in guideline-consistent diagnostic testing for acute pulmonary embolism among adult emergency department patients aged 18-49.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a frequent diagnostic consideration in emergency department (ED) patients, yet diagnosis is challenging because symptoms of PE are nonspecific. Guidelines recommend the use of clinical decision tools to increase efficiency and avoid harms from overtesting, including D-dimer screening in patients not at high risk for PE. Women undergo testing for PE more often than men yet have a lower yield from testing. Our study objective was to determine whether patient sex influenced the odds of received guideline-consistent care. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study at two large U.S. academic EDs from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2018. Nonpregnant patients aged 18-49 years were included if they presented with chest pain, shortness of breath, hemoptysis, or syncope and underwent testing for PE with D-dimer or imaging. Demographic and clinical data were exported from the electronic medical record (EMR). Pretest risk scores were calculated using manually abstracted EMR data. Diagnostic testing was then compared with recommended testing based on pretest risk. The primary outcome was receipt of guideline-consistent care, which required an elevated screening D-dimer prior to imaging in all non-high-risk patients. RESULTS: We studied 1991 discrete patient encounters; 37% (735) of patients were male and 63% (1256) were female. Baseline characteristics, including revised Geneva scores, were similar between sexes. Female patients were more likely to receive guideline-consistent care (70% [874/1256] female vs. 63% [463/735] male, p < 0.01) and less likely to be diagnosed with PE (3.1% [39/1256] female vs. 5.3% [39/735] male, p < 0.05). The most common guideline deviation in both sexes was obtaining imaging without a screening D-dimer in a non-high-risk patient (75% [287/382] female vs. 75% [205/272] male). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, females were more likely than males to receive care consistent with current guidelines and less likely to be diagnosed with PE.

The cost of emergency care for children across differing levels of emergency department pediatric readiness.

High emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness is associated with improved survival in children, but the cost is unknown. We evaluated the costs of emergency care for children across quartiles of ED pediatric readiness. This was a retrospective cohort study of children aged 0-17 years receiving emergency services in 747 EDs in 9 states from January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2017. We measured ED pediatric readiness using the weighted Pediatric Readiness Score (range: 0-100). The primary outcome was the total cost of acute care (ED and inpatient) in 2022 dollars, adjusted for ED case mix and hospital characteristics. A total of 15 138 599 children received emergency services, including 27.6% with injuries and 72.4% with acute medical illness. The average adjusted per-patient cost by quartile of ED pediatric readiness ranged from $991 (quartile 1) to $1064 (quartile 4) for injured children and $1104-$1217 for medical children. The resulting cost differences were $72 (95% CI: -$6 to $151) and $113 (95% CI: $20-$206), respectively. Receiving emergency care in high-readiness EDs was not associated with marked increases in the cost of delivering services.

Launching an innovative educational model addressing substance use disorders and dental pain management (Project ECHO® in dentistry).

BACKGROUND: Uninformed opioid prescribing by dentists has contributed to the current opioid crisis. This report describes the development and implementation of an innovative, interactive, multidisciplinary, and participant-centric telementoring program "Pain Management and Substance Use Disorders Dental ECHO (Extension for Community Health Care Outcomes)". We disseminated information to dentists about appropriate opioid prescribing practices and engaged them with a focus on pain management and substance use disorders. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this program for self-reported: (1) change in knowledge and confidence related to clinical skills for dental pain management of patients with substance use disorders; (2) change in clinical behavior of dentists for safe opioids prescribing; and (3) change in clinic policies regarding safe opioids prescribing. METHODS: An interdisciplinary panel of experts in medicine, pharmacy, social work, and dentistry designed and led the "Pain Management and Substance Use Disorders Dental ECHO" for invited dental care providers and dental students. Six cohorts each consisting of six, 1-h-long sessions were conducted via the Zoom videoconference platform in years 2020 and 2021. Each session included a didactic expert presentation, a participant-presented patient case and discussion. Each participant completed pre- and post-program surveys to assess the program's influence on participant knowledge, clinical confidence and behavior change. RESULTS: The participants (N = 151) were dentists (n = 109), dental faculty (n = 15), dental residents (n = 6), dental hygienists/assistants (n = 13) and nurses and clinic administrators (n = 8). Self-reported perceived medication knowledge, confidence in identification, treatment and willingness to engage with substance use disorders patients, and reported compliance with Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) checks increased significantly from before to after the sessions (p < 0.001). Overall, participants expressed high levels of satisfaction with the content and reported that the sessions provided high benefit. CONCLUSION: The Project ECHO model is effective in rapidly disseminating evidence-based information. Dentists viewed this model as having a high degree of benefit for the optimal management of dental pain and the recognition and treatment of substance use disorders.

Venous Thromboembolism During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: Risk Factors, Diagnostic Testing, and Treatment.

Importance: The risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) increases during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Deep vein thrombosis is the most common VTE during pregnancy, but pulmonary embolism is typically of greater concern as it contributes to far higher morbidity and mortality. Diagnosis and treatment of VTE during pregnancy differ substantially from the general nonpregnant population. Objective: This review describes the epidemiology, risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of VTE during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Evidence Acquisition: First, we reviewed the VTE guidelines from professional societies in obstetrics, cardiology, hematology, emergency medicine, pulmonology, and critical care. Second, we examined references from these documents and used PubMed to identify recent articles that cited the guidelines. Finally, we searched PubMed and Google Scholar for articles published since 2018 that included terms for pregnancy and the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnostic imaging, or treatment of VTE. Results: Venous thromboembolism risk increases throughout pregnancy and peaks shortly after delivery. More than half of pregnancy-related VTE are associated with thrombophilia; other major risks include cesarean delivery, postpartum infection, and the combination of obesity with immobilization. Most VTE can be treated with low molecular weight heparin, but cases of limb- or life-threatening VTE require consideration of thrombolysis and other reperfusion therapies. Conclusions and Relevance: Venous thromboembolism is far more frequent in antepartum and postpartum women than age-matched controls, and clinical suspicion for VTE in this population should incorporate pregnancy-specific risks. Treatment of limb- or life-threatening antepartum or postpartum VTE requires multispecialty coordination to optimize maternal and fetal outcomes.

Field Trauma Triage among Older Adults: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

BACKGROUND: National guidelines for prehospital trauma triage aim to identify seriously injured patients who may benefit from transport to trauma centers. These guidelines have poor sensitivity for serious injury among older adults. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of a high-sensitivity triage strategy for older adults. STUDY DESIGN: We developed a Markov chain Monte Carlo microsimulation model to estimate the cost-effectiveness of high-sensitivity field triage criteria among older adults compared with current practice. The model used a retrospective cohort of 3621 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries who were transported by emergency medical services after an acute injury in 7 counties in the northwestern US during January to December 2011. These data informed model estimates of emergency medical services triage assessment, hospital transport patterns, and outcomes from index hospitalization up to 1 year after discharge. Outcomes beyond 1 year were modeled using published literature. Differences in cost and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were calculated for both strategies using a lifetime analytical horizon. We calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (cost per QALY gained) to assess cost-effectiveness, which we defined using a threshold of less than $100,000 per QALY. RESULTS: High-sensitivity trauma field triage for older adults would produce a small incremental benefit in average trauma system effectiveness (0.0003 QALY) per patient at a cost of $1,236,295 per QALY. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the cost of initial hospitalization and emergency medical services adherence to triage status (ie transporting triage-positive patients to a trauma center) had the largest influence on overall cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: High-sensitivity trauma field triage is not cost-effective among older adults.

Patient-reported Outcomes Among Vulnerable Populations in the Medicare Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative.

BACKGROUND: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative tested whether episode-based payment models could reduce Medicare payments without harming quality. Among patients with vulnerabilities, BPCI appeared to effectively reduce payments while maintaining the quality of care. However, these findings could overlook potential adverse patient-reported outcomes in this population. RESEARCH DESIGN: We surveyed beneficiaries with 4 characteristics (Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibility; dementia; recent institutional care; or racial/ethnic minority) treated at BPCI-participating or comparison hospitals for congestive heart failure, sepsis, pneumonia, or major joint replacement of the lower extremity. We estimated risk-adjusted differences in patient-reported outcomes between BPCI and comparison respondents, stratified by clinical episode and vulnerable characteristic. MEASURES: Patient care experiences during episodes of care and patient-reported functional outcomes assessed roughly 90 days after hospitalization. RESULTS: We observed no differences in self-reported functional improvement between BPCI and comparison respondents with vulnerable characteristics. Patient-reported care experience was similar between BPCI and comparison respondents in 11 of 15 subgroups of clinical episode and vulnerability. BPCI respondents with congestive heart failure, sepsis, and pneumonia were less likely to indicate positive care experiences than comparison respondents for at least 1 subgroup with vulnerabilities. CONCLUSIONS: As implemented by hospitals, BPCI Model 2 was not associated with adverse effects on patient-reported functional status among beneficiaries who may be vulnerable to reductions in care. Hospitals participating in heart failure, sepsis or pneumonia bundled payment episodes should focus on patient care experience while implementing changes in care delivery.

Crucial considerations: Sex differences in the epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of acute pulmonary embolism in non-pregnant adult patients.

Acute pulmonary embolism (PE) affects over 600,000 Americans per year and is a common diagnostic consideration among emergency department patients. Although there are well-documented differences in the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of cardiovascular conditions, such as ischemic heart disease and stroke, the influence of sex and gender on PE remains poorly understood. The overall age-adjusted incidence of PE is similar in women and men, but women have higher relative rates of PE during early and mid-adulthood (ages 20-40 years); whereas, men have higher rates of PE after age 60 years. Women are tested for PE at far higher rates than men, yet women who undergo computed tomography pulmonary angiography are ultimately diagnosed with PE 35%-55% less often than men. Among those diagnosed with PE, women are more likely to have severe clinical features, such as hypotension and signs of right ventricular dysfunction. When controlled for PE severity, women are less likely to receive reperfusion therapies, such as thrombolysis. Finally, women have more bleeding complications for all types of anticoagulation. Further investigation of possible sex-specific diagnostic and treatment algorithms is necessary in order to more accurately detect and treat acute PE in non-pregnant adults.

Clinical Policy: Critical Issues in the Management of Adult Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department With Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

This clinical policy from the American College of Emergency Physicians is a revision of the 2009 "Clinical Policy: Critical Issues in the Management of Adult Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department With Community-Acquired Pneumonia." A writing subcommittee conducted a systematic review of the literature to derive evidence-based recommendations to answer the following clinical questions: (1) In the adult emergency department patient diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia, what clinical decision aids can inform the determination of patient disposition? (2) In the adult emergency department patient with community-acquired pneumonia, what biomarkers can be used to direct initial antimicrobial therapy? (3) In the adult emergency department patient diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia, does a single dose of parenteral antibiotics in the emergency department followed by oral treatment versus oral treatment alone improve outcomes? Evidence was graded and recommendations were made based on the strength of the available data.

The Cost of a Fall Among Older Adults Requiring Emergency Services.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The cost of a fall among older adults requiring emergency services is unclear, especially beyond the acute care period. We evaluated medical expenditures (costs) to 1 year among community-dwelling older adults who fell and required ambulance transport, including acute versus post-acute periods, the primary drivers of cost, and comparison to baseline expenditures. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis. SETTING: Forty-four emergency medical services agencies transporting to 51 emergency department in seven northwest counties from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2011, with follow-up through December 31, 2012. PARTICIPANTS: We included 2,494 community-dwelling adults, 65 years and older, transported by ambulance after a fall with continuous fee-for-service Medicare coverage. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was total Medicare expenditures to 1 year (2019 U.S. dollars), with separation by acute versus post-acute periods and by cost category. We included 48 variables in a standardized risk-adjustment model to generate adjusted cost estimates. RESULTS: The median age was 83 years, with 74% female, and 41.9% requiring admission during the index visit. The median total cost of a fall to 1 year was $26,143 (interquartile range (IQR) = $9,634-$68,086), including acute care median $1,957 (IQR = $1,298-$12,924) and post-acute median $20,560 (IQR = $5,673-$58,074). Baseline costs for the previous year were median $8,642 (IQR = $479-$10,948). Costs increased across all categories except outpatient, with the largest increase for inpatient costs (baseline median $0 vs postfall median $9,477). In multivariable analysis, the following were associated with higher costs: high baseline costs, older age, comorbidities, extremity fractures (lower extremity, pelvis, and humerus), noninjury diagnoses, and surgical interventions. Compared with baseline, costs increased for 74.6% of patients, with a median increase of $12,682 (IQR = -$185 to $51,189). CONCLUSION: Older adults who fall and require emergency services have increased healthcare expenditures compared with baseline, particularly during the post-acute period. Comorbidities, noninjury medical conditions, fracture type, and surgical interventions were independently associated with increased costs.

Outpatient Treatment of Low-risk Pulmonary Embolism in the Era of Direct Oral Anticoagulants: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Clinical guidelines have supported outpatient treatment of low-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) since 2014, but adoption of this practice has been slow. Direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) therapy for venous thromboembolism (VTE) is now as common as vitamin K antagonist treatment, but data are sparse regarding outcomes for patients with low-risk PE treated with DOACs as outpatients. We conducted a systematic review of literature on outcomes of outpatient management for PE, including comparisons to inpatient treatment and differences by anticoagulant class. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase, PubMed, CENTRAL, clinicaltrials.gov, and ICTRN for studies published from January 1980 through February 2019 using a predefined strategy developed with a medical librarian. We included English-language randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective nonrandomized trials (NRTs) of adult patients diagnosed with acute, symptomatic PE, and discharged from the emergency department or within 48 hours. Our primary outcome included four major adverse outcomes (all-cause mortality, PE-related mortality, recurrent VTE, and major bleeding) within 30 and 90 days. A preplanned subanalysis of high-quality studies assessed outcomes associated with different anticoagulation treatment classes. RESULTS: Our initial search identified 6,818 records, of which 12 studies (four RCT, eight NRT) with a total of 3,191 patients were included in the review. All RCTs and six NRTs were determined to have low to moderate risk of bias and were classified as high quality. Outpatients in these studies (n = 1,814) had rates of 90-day major adverse outcomes below 1%, including all-cause mortality (0.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.4% to 1.2%), PE-related mortality (0.06%, 95% CI = 0.01% to 0.3%), recurrent VTE (0.8%, 95% CI = 0.5% to 1.4%), and major bleeding (0.8%, 95% CI = 0.5% to 1.4%). Exploratory analysis revealed no association between anticoagulant treatment class and rates of major adverse outcomes. CONCLUSION: Among patients with low-risk PE treated as outpatients, few patients experienced major adverse outcomes such as mortality, recurrent VTE, or major bleeding within 90 days.

Evaluation and Management of Intermediate and High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism.

OBJECTIVE. The evidence regarding pulmonary embolism treatment has greatly advanced over the past 10 years, particularly in patients with right ventricular dysfunction or hemodynamic instability. Treatment options include systemic anticoagulation, systemic thrombolysis, catheter-assisted thrombus removal (mechanical with or without catheter-directed thrombolysis), and surgical embolectomy. CONCLUSION. This article will review the data available for treatment options and summarize the evidence-based guidelines on treatment of intermediate- or high-risk pulmonary embolism.

Drug-related mortality after discharge from treatment: A record-linkage study of substance abuse clients in Texas, 2006-2012.

BACKGROUND: Patients have higher mortality immediately after substance abuse treatment discharge, but there are few data on post-discharge mortality differences across treatment modalities. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study examined individuals discharged from substance abuse treatment during 2006-2012 and probabilistically matched treatment records to death records. Logistic regression examined associations between drug-related death (DRD) and demographics; route, frequency, and classes of drugs abused; and treatment. Primary outcome was DRD during post-discharge days 0-28; secondary outcomes examined DRD during days 29-90 and 91-365. RESULTS: We examined 178,749 patients discharged from 254,814 treatment episodes. There were 97 DRD during days 0-28 (4.1/1000 person-years), 115 DRD during days 29-90 (2.6/1000 person-years; IRR 0.6 [95% CI 0.5-0.8]), and 293 DRD during days 91-365 (1.9/1000 person-years; IRR 0.5 [0.4-0.6]). Higher 28-day DRD was associated with abuse of opioids (aOR 2.5 [1.4-4.4]), depressants (aOR 2.0 [1.2-3.4]), or alcohol (aOR 1.7 [1.1-2.6]); and opioid injection (aOR 2.2 [1.3-3.7]). Lower DRD was associated with treatment completion (aOR 0.6 [0.4-0.9]), female sex (aOR 0.6 [0.4-0.8]), and employment (aOR 0.5 [0.3-0.9]). Among all patients, DRD rates were higher following residential (IRR 2.6, [1.6-4.2]) and detoxification (IRR 2.9, [1.7-4.9]) treatment compared to outpatient. Patients with prior opioid abuse had higher 28-day DRD after outpatient (6.7/1000 person-years; IRR 4.1 [1.8-9.1]), residential (13.6/1000 person-years; IRR 4.2 [2.2-8.2]), and detoxification (8.8/1000 person-years; IRR 3.2 [1.2, 8.5]) compared to those without. CONCLUSIONS: Drug-related mortality is highest during days 0-28 after discharge, especially following residential and detoxification treatment. Opioid abuse is strongly associated with early post-discharge mortality.

Medicare's Bundled Payments For Care Improvement Initiative Maintained Quality Of Care For Vulnerable Patients.

The Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative established four models to test whether linking payments for an episode of care could reduce Medicare payments while maintaining or improving quality. Evaluations concluded that model 2, the largest, generally lowered payments without reducing quality for the average beneficiary, but these global results could mask adverse findings among vulnerable subpopulations. We analyzed changes in emergency department visits, unplanned hospital readmissions, and all-cause mortality within ninety days of hospital discharge among beneficiaries with one or more of three vulnerable characteristics-dementia, dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid, and recent institutional care-in 105,458 beneficiary episodes in the period October 2013-December 2016. The results for twelve types of medical and surgical BPCI episodes were evaluated relative to results in matched comparison groups. Our findings suggest that BPCI model 2 did not adversely affect care quality for beneficiaries with vulnerabilities. While this conclusion does not discourage the further development of bundled payment models, policy makers should support ongoing research to ensure that vulnerable populations are not adversely affected by these approaches.

A Broader View of Quality: Choosing Wisely Recommendations From Other Specialties With High Relevance to Emergency Care.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) joined the Choosing Wisely campaign in 2013 and has contributed 10 recommendations to reduce low-value care. Recommendations from other specialties may also identify opportunities to improve quality and patient safety in emergency care. The Choosing Wisely work group of the ACEP Quality and Patient Safety Committee seeks to identify and characterize the Choosing Wisely recommendations from other professional societies with the highest relevance to emergency care. METHODS: In June 2016, all Choosing Wisely recommendations from other specialties were obtained from the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation. Using a modified Delphi method, the 10 group members rated recommendations for relevance on a validated 7-point scale. Recommendations identified as highly relevant (median score=7) were rated on 3 additional characteristics: cost savings (1=large, 5=none), risk-benefit profile (1=benefit >risk, 5=risk >benefit), and actionability by emergency physicians (1=complete, 5=none). Results are presented as overall means (eg, mean of subcategory means) and subcategory means with SDs. RESULTS: Initial review of 412 recommendations identified 49 items as highly relevant to emergency care. Eleven were redundant with ACEP recommendations, leaving 38 items from 25 professional societies. Overall means for items ranged from 1.57 to 3.1. Recommendations' scores averaged 3.2 (SD 0.6) for cost savings, 1.9 (SD 0.4) for risk-benefit, and 1.6 (SD 0.5) for actionability. The most common conditions in these recommendations were infectious diseases (14 items; 37%), head injury (4 items; 11%), and primary headache disorders (4 items; 11%). The most frequently addressed interventions were imaging studies (11 items; 29%) and antibiotics (9 items; 24%). CONCLUSION: Thirty-eight Choosing Wisely recommendations from other specialties are highly relevant to emergency care. Imaging studies and antibiotic use are heavily represented among them.

Geographic variation in postpartum prescription opioid use: Opportunities to improve maternal safety.

BACKGROUND: Obstetric delivery is among the most common in-hospital procedures experienced by reproductive-age women, yet there is little literature on patterns of postpartum opioid prescriptions after such episodes. METHODS: We used claims data from 871,195 vaginal deliveries to 768,455 privately-insured women with an in-hospital delivery between June 2001 and July 2013 to examine the state- and census division-level proportions of women who filled an opioid prescription within four days of hospital discharge after vaginal delivery. Our primary outcome examined the proportion of women who filled an opioid prescription after uncomplicated vaginal delivery (e.g., without forceps extraction, vacuum extraction, or 3rd/4th degree perineal laceration). Secondary outcomes examined state- and census division-level variation in opioid prescription duration (proportion of prescriptions exceeding five days) and dose (proportion of prescriptions exceeding 280 morphine milligram equivalents). We also displayed national temporal trends in opioid prescribing rate and dose for uncomplicated vaginal delivery in comparison to complicated vaginal delivery. RESULTS: Across states, we found a 7-fold variation in postpartum opioid prescription rates (7.6-53.4%), a 5-fold variation in opioid prescriptions for greater than five days' duration (5.1-25.7%), and a 19% absolute difference in opioid prescriptions for greater than 280 morphine milligram equivalents (0-19.3%) following uncomplicated vaginal delivery. CONCLUSIONS: These wide variations in postpartum opioid prescription practices suggest opportunities to develop guidelines on postpartum opioid use, to improve prescription safety, and to reduce opioid-related harms among women in the postpartum period.

Physician Time Burden Associated with Querying Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs.

Objective: Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) enable prescribers to review patient prescription histories, and their use is mandatory in many states. We estimated the cost of physicians retrieving PDMP patient reports compared with a model where a delegate (i.e., administrative staff) retrieves reports. Methods: We performed a cost analysis with a one-year time horizon, from the perspective of physicians' employers. We obtained specialty-specific estimates of controlled substance prescribing frequency from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2012-2014. We defined three PDMP usage cases based on the frequency of queries: comprehensive (before every Schedule II-IV controlled substance prescription), selective (before new Schedule II-IV prescriptions and every six months for continuing medications), and minimal (before new Schedule II or III prescriptions and annually for continuing medications). Results: The delegate model was less costly for all specialties in the comprehensive usage case and most specialties in the selective usage case, and it was similar to physician model costs in the minimal usage case. Estimated annual costs of the physician model to a large health care system (1,000 full-time equivalent physicians) were $1.6 million for comprehensive usage, $1.1 million for selective usage, and $645,313 for minimal usage. The delegate model was less costly in the comprehensive (savings of $907,283) and selective usage cases (savings of $156,216). Conclusions: Relying on delegates vs physicians to retrieve reports is less costly in most cases. Automation and integration of PDMP data into electronic health records may reduce costs further. Physicians, health care systems, and states should collaborate to streamline access to PDMPs.

Unused opioid analgesics and drug disposal following outpatient dental surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Individuals who abuse prescription opioids often use leftover pills that were prescribed for friends or family members. Dental surgery has been identified as a common source of opioid prescriptions. We measured rates of used and unused opioids after dental surgery for a pilot program to promote safe drug disposal. METHODS: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of opioid use patterns among patients undergoing surgical tooth extraction at a university-affiliated oral surgery practice. The primary objective was to describe opioid prescribing and consumption patterns, with the number of unused opioid pills remaining on postoperative day 21 serving as the primary outcome. The secondary aim was to measure the effect of a behavioral intervention (informing patients of a pharmacy-based opioid disposal program) on the proportion of patients who disposed or reported intent to dispose of unused opioids. (NCT02814305) Results: We enrolled 79 patients, of whom 72 filled opioid prescriptions. On average, patients received 28 opioid pills and had 15 pills (54%) left over, for a total of 1010 unused pills among the cohort. The behavioral intervention was associated with a 22% absolute increase in the proportion of patients who disposed or reported intent to dispose of unused opioids (Fisher's exact p=0.11). CONCLUSION: Fifty-four percent of opioids prescribed in this pilot study were not used. The pharmacy-based drug disposal intervention showed a robust effect size but did not achieve statistical significance. Dentists and oral surgeons could potentially reduce opioid diversion by moderately reducing the quantity of opioid analgesics prescribed after surgery.