Leftover and expired medicines in households: Is their storage and disposal a public health problem?

Abstract

Leftover and expired medicines in households must be disposed of in such a way as to ensure the population's safety, while generating the lowest possible negative impact on the environment. In this context, the aim of this study was to explore drug disposal practices related to home medicine cabinets among medical students in Quito, Ecuador. Between December 2018 and January 2019, 498 students from different semesters were surveyed. Data show that up to 30.3% of students had flushed their medicines down the toilet at least once, while 7.2% acknowledged that they had removed the medicines from their packaging to deposit them in a household garbage disposal. A secondary aim of the study was to analyze expired and leftover drugs in participants' medicine cabinets. Metformin was the most common medication found, followed by acetaminophen, spironolactone, and ibuprofen. This study shows the urgent need to develop multisectoral strategies for the implementation of policies on pharmaceutical domestic waste, which will make it possible to control and reduce the negative impact on both the environment and public health.

Keywords

• drug residues
• ecotoxicology
• pharmacovigilance
• pharmacoepidemiology
• drug storage
• ecuador