Articles: opioid.
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Little is known about long-term pain and function outcomes among patients with chronic noncancer pain initiating chronic opioid therapy (COT). In the Middle-Aged/Seniors Chronic Opioid Therapy study of patients identified through electronic pharmacy records as initiating COT for chronic noncancer pain, we examined the relationships between level of opioid use (over the 120 days before outcome assessment) and pain and activity interference outcomes at 4- and 12-month follow-ups. Patients aged 45+ years (N = 1477) completed a baseline interview; 1311 and 1157 of these comprised the 4- and 12-month analysis samples, respectively. ⋯ A similar pattern was observed for pain intensity at 4 months and for activity interference at both time points. Better outcomes in the minimal/no use group could reflect pain improvement leading to opioid discontinuation. The similarity in outcomes of regular/higher-dose and intermittent/lower-dose opioid users suggests that intermittent and/or lower-dose use vs higher-dose use may confer risk reduction without reducing benefits.
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Observational Study
Profiles of Urine Drug Test in Clinical Pain Patients vs Pain Research Study Subjects.
To examine similarities and differences in urine drug test (UDT) results in clinical pain patients and pain subjects participating in pain research studies. ⋯ These results support previous findings that PUD is a common finding in clinical pain patients, particularly in those prescribed opioid therapy, and we suggest that UDT be used as routine screening testing in pain research studies.