Too many narcotics prescribed after surgery: study | Reuters

Too many narcotics prescribed after surgery: study | Reuters
Many people who undergo urology procedures may be sent home with more narcotic painkillers than they need -- leaving home medicine cabinets filled with the potentially addictive drugs, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that of 213 patients prescribed narcotic painkillers after surgery for a urological condition, two-thirds had leftover pills a few weeks later. And most -- 91 percent -- were keeping those leftovers in their medicine cabinets.

That's a problem, the researchers say, because those pills can be abused by anyone with access to the medicine cabinet.