Pain
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The purpose of the present study was to identify the factors that influence the selection of hydrocodone and oxycodone as primary drugs of abuse in opioid-dependent subjects (n = 3520) entering one of 160 drug treatment programs around the country. Anonymous, self-administered surveys and direct qualitative interviews were used to examine the influence of demographic characteristics, drug use patterns, and decision-related factors on primary opioid selection. Our results showed that oxycodone and hydrocodone were the drugs of choice in 75% of all patients. ⋯ Hydrocodone users were generally risk-averse women, elderly people, noninjectors, and those who prefer safer modes of acquisition than dealers (ie, doctors, friends, or family members). In contrast, oxycodone was a much more attractive euphorigenic agent to risk-tolerant young, male users who prefer to inject or snort their drugs to get high and are willing to use more aggressive forms of diversion. Prevention and treatment approaches, and pain physicians, should benefit from these results because it is clear that not all drug abusers share the same characteristics, and the decision to use one drug over another is a complex one, which is largely attributable to individual differences (eg, personality, gender, age, and other factors).
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This study sought to determine the prevalence and impact of pain in a nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States. Data from the 2011 National Health and Aging Trends Study were analyzed. In-person interviews were conducted in 7601 adults ages ≥65 years. ⋯ For example, self-reported inability to walk 3 blocks was 72% higher in participants with than without pain (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.72 [95% confidence interval 1.56-1.90]). Participants with 1, 2, 3, and ≥4 sites of pain had gait speeds that were 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.08 meters per second slower, respectively, than older adults without pain, adjusting for disease burden and other potential confounders (P < 0.001). In summary, bothersome pain in the last month was reported by half of the older adult population of the United States in 2011 and was strongly associated with decreased physical function.
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The Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group (NeuPSIG) of the International Association for the Study of Pain has proposed a grading system for the presence of neuropathic pain (NeP) using the following categories: no NeP, possible, probable, or definite NeP. To further evaluate this system, we investigated patients with neck/upper limb pain with a suspected nerve lesion, to explore: (i) the clinical application of this grading system; (ii) the suitability of 2 NeP questionnaires (Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs pain scale [LANSS] and the painDETECT questionnaire [PD-Q]) in identifying NeP in this patient cohort; and (iii) the level of agreement in identifying NeP between the NeuPSIG classification system and 2 NeP questionnaires. Patients (n = 152; age 52 ± 12 years; 53% male) completed the PD-Q and LANSS questionnaire and underwent a comprehensive clinical examination. ⋯ Both questionnaires failed to identify a large number of patients with clinically classified definite NeP (LANSS sensitivity 22%, specificity 88%; PD-Q sensitivity 64%, specificity 62%). These lowered sensitivity scores contrast with those from the original PD-Q and LANSS validation studies and may reflect differences in the clinical characteristics of the study populations. The diagnostic accuracy of LANSS and PD-Q for the identification of NeP in patients with neck/upper limb pain appears limited.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Addictive behaviors related to opioid use for chronic pain: A population-based study.
The growing body of research showing increased opioid use in patients with chronic pain coupled with concerns regarding addiction encouraged the development of this population-based study. The goal of the study was to investigate the co-occurrence of indicators of addictive behaviors in patients with chronic non-cancer pain in long-term opioid treatment. The study combined data from the individual-based Danish Health Survey in 2010 and the official Danish health and socio-economic, individual-based registers. ⋯ At least 2 of the 6 addictive behaviors were observed in 22.6% of the long-term opioid users with chronic pain compared with 11.5% of the non-opioid users with chronic pain and 8.9% of the individuals without chronic pain. Thus, a strong association was demonstrated between long-term opioid use and the clustering of addictive behaviors. An intricate relationship between chronic pain, opioid use, and addictive behaviors was observed in this study, which deserves both clinical attention and further research.