SURVEY OF OPIOID USE IN CHRONIC NONMALIGNANT PAIN PATIENTS

Background and Objectives. Opioids have been accepted as appropriate t reatment for acute and cancer pain, but remain controversial for use w ith chronic nonmalignant pain. Clinicians are concerned about efficacy , tolerance, addiction, and unwanted side effects. Methods. The aim of this study was to survey chronic pain patients who were taking opioid s for their pain, to determine the incidence of these adverse conditio ns. Two hundred seventeen patients who were being treated for their pa in at two different pain centers completed a medication questionnaire. The most common diagnosis was low back pain. One hundred twelve patie nts reported taking oral opioids for their pain. Results. Of the patie nts who reported taking opioids for their chronic pain, 83% felt that the opioids were moderately beneficial in relieving their pain; 25% fe lt that the opioid had not lost its ability to relieve the pain over t ime; 35% reported that they did not need to increase their medication; 36% expressed no fear of addiction or dependence; and 56% reported ha ving no unwanted side effects. Conclusions. The results suggest that c hronic nonmalignant pain patients taking opioids for their pain report ed some tolerance, fear of addiction, and side effects when taking opi oids. However, despite these concerns, some of these patients felt tha t opioid therapy was very beneficial. Further investigations are neede d to determine which patient characteristics predict benefit from opio id therapy for nonmalignant pain.