Opioid Abuse in People with Chronic Back Pain
http://hcpthink.com/mpanel_document/opioid-abuse-in-people-with-chronic-back-pain/
IMO.. this study was poorly designed with only 55 pts and lasted only six months… and chose pts with psychiatric disorders .. including depression and anxiety. Since the vast majority of chronic pain pts with poorly treated pain.. will experience depression and anxiety. I have to wonder what other mental health disorders these pts had been diagnosed with… like addiction and wasn’t divulged. Another study designed to come out with a predetermined outcome ?
| The CDC says every day in US, 114 people die due to a drug overdose while a larger proportion are getting treated in EDs everyday either for abuse or misuse of the drugs. Deaths due to drug overdose are rising over last two decades. |
Last year, the US FDA approved a prescription opioid with properties that made it difficult to abuse, but just last month, a commentary in CMAJ argued that such formulations will not solve the problems of opioid addiction. It argued that governments in Canada and US are promoting such kind of tamper-resistant drugs, but opioid users may tamper with prescribed tablets, capsules or patches for a faster “high,” therefore, merely substituting one formulation for another will not work.
While this argument is on the formulation, a new study has found that chronic back pain sufferers with psychiatric disorders such as depression or anxiety to be 75% more prone to opioid abuse. This is a segment of people who are more likely to abuse their medication.
The study examined 55 chronic lower back patients who experienced low-to-high levels of depression or anxiety symptoms who were given oral morphine, oxycodone or a placebo for pain as needed over a 6-month period. Researchers discovered that patients suffering from high levels of depression or anxiety experienced increased side effects, 50% less improvement for back pain and 75% more opioid abuse as compared to patients with low levels who reported low levels of depression or anxiety.
Based on the study findings, it is essential that clinicians should be careful in prescribing opioid analgesics for low back pain for patients who are showing signs of depression and anxiety.
Filed under: General Problems
First they came for those who suffer from drug addiction. Then they came for pain patients who didn’t have cancer. And then they came for pain patients who suffered from back pain, along with anyone diagnosed with comorbid mental illnesses. Now they’re looking at opioid prescribing in nursing homes and children’s cough syrup with codeine. The drug war is like a virus which will eventually infect everyone.
EXCELLENT reply 🙂 TY!