Drug and alcohol dependence
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Drug Alcohol Depend · Jul 2001
Comparative Study Clinical TrialPain intolerance in opioid-maintained former opiate addicts: effect of long-acting maintenance agent.
Patients on methadone maintenance therapy are relatively intolerant of pain, a finding hypothesized to reflect a hyperalgesic state induced by chronic opioid administration. To explore if the intrinsic activity of the opioid maintenance agent might affect expression of hyperalgesia in this population, withdrawal latency for cold-pressor (CP) pain was compared between small groups of methadone-maintained (n = 18), buprenorphine-maintained (n = 18), and matched control (n = 18) subjects. ⋯ Diminished pain tolerance in patients receiving opioid maintenance treatment has significant clinical implications. More research is needed to determine if buprenorphine offers advantages over methadone in this regard.