Lancet
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Randomised trial of oral morphine for chronic non-cancer pain.
The use of opioid analgesics for chronic non-cancer pain is controversial. Some surveys report good pain relief and improvement in performance while others suggest a poor outcome with a propensity to psychological dependence or addiction. ⋯ In patients with treatment-resistant chronic regional pain of soft-tissue or musculoskeletal origin, nine weeks of oral morphine in doses up to 120 mg daily may confer analgesic benefit with a low risk of addiction but is unlikely to yield psychological or functional improvement.