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Diagnosing opioid addiction in people with chronic pain
Date Issued
2018-09-21
Date Available
2019-05-20T13:58:16Z
Abstract
Over the past two decades, a steep rise in the number of opioids dispensed for pain treatment has been accompanied by a dramatic rise in overdose deaths in the United States. In 2016, up to 32 000 deaths reportedly involved prescription opioids, and the economic burden of prescription opioid overdose has been estimated to exceed $78bn (£59bn; €67bn) annually. Despite all the evidence of harm, however, it remains unclear exactly how to determine if a patient with chronic pain has opioid addiction, or what criteria should serve as a gold standard in making a diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD) in this context. This is an important gap in the literature that hinders both evidence-based care and research on the links between prescription opioids and OUD. In this editorial, we discuss the limitations of diagnosing OUD in people with chronic pain, and make several recommendations for further research.
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
BMJ
Journal
The BMJ
Volume
362
Issue
k3949
Copyright (Published Version)
2018 British Medical Journal
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0959-8146
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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