The journal of pain : official journal of the American Pain Society
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Whether patients receive guideline-concordant opioid therapy (OT) is largely unknown and may vary based on provider and patient characteristics. We assessed the extent to which human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and uninfected patients initiating long-term (≥ 90 days) OT received care concordant with American Pain Society/American Academy of Pain Medicine and Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense guidelines by measuring receipt of 17 indicators during the first 6 months of OT. Of 20,753 patients, HIV-infected patients (n = 6,604) were more likely than uninfected patients to receive a primary care provider visit within 1 month (52.0% vs 30.9%) and 6 months (90.7% vs 73.7%) and urine drug tests within 1 month (14.8% vs 11.5%) and 6 months (19.5% vs 15.4%; all P < .001). HIV-infected patients were also more likely to receive OT concurrent with sedatives (24.6% vs 19.6%) and a current substance use disorder (21.6% vs 17.2%). Among both patient groups, only modest changes in guideline concordance were observed over time: urine drug tests and OT concurrent with current substance use disorders increased, whereas sedative coprescriptions decreased (all Ps for trend < .001). Over a 10-year period, on average, patients received no more than 40% of recommended care. OT guideline-concordant care is rare in primary care, varies by patient/provider characteristics, and has undergone few changes over time. ⋯ The promulgation of OT clinical guidelines has not resulted in substantive changes over time in OT management, which falls well short of the standard recommended by leading medical societies. Strategies are needed to increase the provision of OT guideline-concordant care for all patients.
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There has been a need for a brief assessment tool to determine compliance with use of prescribed opioids for pain. The purpose of this study was to develop and begin the validation of a brief and simple compliance checklist (Opioid Compliance Checklist [OCC]) for chronic pain patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy. A review of the literature of opioid therapy agreements led to a 12-item OCC that was repeatedly administered to 157 patients who were taking opioids for chronic pain and followed for 6 months. Validation of the OCC was conducted by identifying those patients exhibiting aberrant drug-related behavior as determined by any of the following: positive urine toxicology screen, a positive score on the Prescription Drug Use Questionnaire interview or Current Opioid Misuse Measure, and/or ratings by staff on the Addiction Behavior Checklist. Of the original 12 items, 5 OCC items appeared to best predict subsequent aberrant behaviors based on multivariate logistic regression analyses (cross-validated area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = .67). Although further testing is needed, these results suggest that the OCC is an easy-to-use, promising measure in monitoring opioid adherence among persons with chronic pain. ⋯ This study presents validation of a brief 5-item compliance checklist for use with chronic pain patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy. This measure asks patients about aberrant drug-related behavior over the past month, and any positive response indicates problems with adherence with opioids. Further cross-validation testing is needed.
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There is emerging evidence that chronic musculoskeletal pain is associated with anatomic and functional abnormalities in gray matter. However, little research has investigated the relationship between chronic musculoskeletal pain and white matter. In this study, we used whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics and region-of-interest analyses of diffusion tensor imaging data to demonstrate that patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain exhibit several abnormal metrics of white matter integrity compared with healthy controls. Chronic musculoskeletal pain was associated with lower fractional anisotropy in the splenium of the corpus callosum and the left cingulum adjacent to the hippocampus. Patients also had higher radial diffusivity in the splenium, right anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule, external capsule, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and cerebral peduncle. Patterns of axial diffusivity (AD) varied: patients exhibited lower AD in the left cingulum adjacent to the hippocampus and higher AD in the anterior limbs of the internal capsule and in the right cerebral peduncle. Several correlations between diffusion metrics and clinical variables were also significant at a P < .01 level: fractional anisotropy in the left uncinate fasciculus correlated positively with total pain experience and typical levels of pain severity. AD in the left anterior limb of the internal capsule and left uncinate fasciculus was correlated with total pain experience and typical pain level. Positive correlations were also found between AD in the right uncinate and both total pain experience and pain catastrophizing. These results demonstrate that white matter abnormalities play a role in chronic musculoskeletal pain as a cause, a predisposing factor, a consequence, or a compensatory adaptation. ⋯ Patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain exhibit altered metrics of diffusion in the brain's white matter compared with healthy volunteers, and some of these differences are directly related to symptom severity.
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A cross-sectional epidemiologic survey was performed to determine the prevalence of chronic pain (CP) and to identify associated factors in a random sample of persons 15 years or older from a segment of the population of São Paulo City, Brazil. A total of 1,108 eligible participants were randomly selected, and face-to-face interviews were performed with 826 individuals (74.5%) between December 2011 and February 2012. Chronic Pain Grade, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and EuroQol-5D were used to verify pain characteristics and the associated signs of psychological distress. A prevalence of 42% (95% confidence interval, 38.6-45.4) was observed for CP, and the participants with CP had an average pain intensity of 5.9 (standard deviation = 1.9) and a pain-related disability of 4.1 (standard deviation = 3.2) on a 0 to 10 scale. Persistent pain was present in 68.6% of those with CP, and 32.8% of the population sample had high-intensity or high-interference pain (Chronic Pain Grade II, III, and IV). Quality of life was significantly worse among the CP individuals. The following factors were independently associated with CP: female gender, age 30 years or older, ≤ 4 years of education, symptoms consistent with anxiety, and intense physical strain. Indicators of pain severity increased with pain grades. ⋯ CP is highly prevalent in the city of São Paulo and has a considerable impact on health-related quality of life. Demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological factors are independently associated with this condition.
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Conditioned pain modulation (CPM) encompasses the effects of inhibitory and facilitatory pain modulatory systems and is inefficient in some chronic pain states. A proportion of healthy subjects also exhibit little or no CPM, perhaps suggesting that inherent factors such as gender or genetics may be influential. However, there is no consensus on how best to determine a meaningful CPM effect. This study aimed to determine the proportion of pain-free subjects exhibiting a meaningful CPM effect. Analyses of associations between 5HTTLPR (serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region) polymorphisms on the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4), gender, and CPM effect were also carried out. A total of 125 healthy subjects (47 male; 78 female) underwent pressure pain threshold testing before, during, and after a cold pressor conditioning stimulus. A buccal cell sample was collected for analysis of 5HTTLPR genotype. Meaningful CPM effect was determined as an increase in pressure pain threshold values from baseline greater than the inherent error of measurement, calculated as 5.3%. During the conditioning stimulus, 116 subjects (92.8%) exhibited a CPM effect whereas 9 did not. CPM effect did not differ significantly between genders or between 5HTTLPR genotypes. This provides a clear basis on which to determine the proportion of patients with a chronic pain disorder that exhibit a meaningful CPM effect. ⋯ This study proposes a method for calculating meaningful CPM effect and reports the proportion and magnitude of effect elicited in a large sample. Associations between CPM, gender, and genotype were also analyzed. Clarification of normal CPM response may help to elucidate the mechanisms driving CPM inefficiency in chronic pain.