Seehusen Dean A, Edwards John
Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Evans, GA 30809, USA.
J Am Board Fam Med. 2006 Nov-Dec;19(6):542-7. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.19.6.542.
Clear guidance for how patients should dispose of unused and expired medications is lacking. Medications improperly disposed of can make their way into groundwater, surface water, and even drinking water. Incineration is the best disposal option currently available for waste medications. Although a few pharmacies will facilitate proper disposal of unused and expired medications, the majority will not.
A total of 301 patients at an outpatient pharmacy completed a survey about medication disposal practices and beliefs.
More than half of the patients surveyed reported storing unused and expired medications in their homes, and more than half had flushed them down a toilet. Only 22.9% reported returning medication to a pharmacy for disposal. Less than 20% had ever been given advice about medication disposal by a health care provider. Previous counseling was highly associated with returning medications to a pharmacy (45.8% vs 17.1%, P < .001) and was the variable most associated with returning medications to a provider (28.8% vs 10.0%, P < .001). Previously counseled respondents were significantly more likely to believe that returning medications to a pharmacy (91.5% vs 60.3%, P < .001) or a medical provider (74.6% vs 47.3%, P < .001) was acceptable.
The results of this study suggest that there is a role for patient education about proper disposal of unused and expired medications.
目前缺乏关于患者应如何处理未使用和过期药物的明确指导。不当处理的药物可能会进入地下水、地表水，甚至饮用水中。焚烧是目前处理废弃药物的最佳选择。虽然有少数药店会协助正确处理未使用和过期的药物，但大多数药店不会。
一家门诊药房的301名患者完成了一项关于药物处理做法和观念的调查。
超过一半的受访患者报告称将未使用和过期的药物储存在家中，超过一半的患者将其冲进了马桶。只有22.9%的患者报告将药物退回药店进行处理。不到20%的患者曾从医疗服务提供者那里得到过关于药物处理的建议。之前接受过咨询与将药物退回药店高度相关（45.8%对17.1%，P <.001），并且是与将药物退回提供者最相关的变量（28.8%对10.0%，P <.001）。之前接受过咨询的受访者明显更有可能认为将药物退回药店（91.5%对60.3%，P <.001）或医疗服务提供者（74.6%对47.3%，P <.001）是可以接受的。
本研究结果表明，在对患者进行关于正确处理未使用和过期药物的教育方面存在作用。
