Addictive behaviors
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In previous studies a 32-item Opiate Withdrawal Scale was found to provide a reliable and valid means of measuring the signs and symptoms of withdrawal among heroin (and other opiate) addicts. This paper describes the processes whereby a shorter 10-item version of the same scale was developed. The Short Opiate Withdrawal Scale (SOWS) is simple to understand and easy to administer, and it avoids the redundancy of items contained in the original scale. It is suggested that the SOWS provide a useful instrument which can be used both in research and clinical practice with opiate addicts.
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Addictive behaviors · Jan 1985
Narcotic utilization for back pain patients housed in private and semi-private rooms.
Hospital records from 40 back pain patients in private rooms and 40 back pain patients in semi-private rooms were reviewed to determine: (a) if patients in private rooms used more narcotics than patients in semi-private rooms; and (b) whether room type was a predictive variable for narcotic utilization. Patients in private rooms were found to be more likely to use intramuscular request-contingent narcotics than similar patients in semi-private rooms. No differences in the amount of narcotics were observed for other categories of narcotic analgesics. Room type, relevant medical, and demographic variables failed to account for this difference in medication utilization, suggesting that other factors such as medical staff and patient personality variables may be playing an important role in contributing to the use of narcotic analgesics by back-pain patients.