Pain
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Opioid-involved motor vehicle traffic fatalities have increased over the past 2 decades. However, the extent to which prescribed opioids increase the risk of motor vehicle crashes remains uncertain. This study used real-world healthcare claims data to examine the association between prescription opioid dose and motor vehicle crash risk. ⋯ In within-individual comparisons, crash risk was greater during opioid prescription periods involving doses ≤60 MME/day (odds ratio [OR], 3.86; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.54, 4.21), >60 to 120 MME/day (OR, 5.46; 95% CI, 4.44, 6.73), and >120 MME/day (OR, 3.45; 95% CI, 2.31, 5.15) than during off-treatment periods. The negative control analysis supported the specificity of the results to opioids rather than to other processes associated with pharmacologic pain management. These findings suggest that the receipt of prescription opioids, even at doses ≤60 MME/day, is associated with an increased risk of motor vehicle crashes.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Opioid dose and pain effects of an online pain self-management program to augment usual care in adults with chronic pain: a multisite randomized clinical trial.
Readily accessible nonpharmacological interventions that can assist in opioid dose reduction while managing pain is a priority for adults receiving long-term opioid therapy (LOT). Few large-scale evaluations of online pain self-management programs exist that capture effects on reducing morphine equivalent dose (MED) simultaneously with pain outcomes. An open-label, intent-to-treat, randomized clinical trial recruited adults (n = 402) with mixed chronic pain conditions from primary care and pain clinics of 2 U. ⋯ Benefits were also observed in pain knowledge, pain self-efficacy, and pain coping. The findings suggest that for adults on LOT for chronic pain, use of E-health, compared with TAU, significantly increased participants' likelihood of clinically meaningful decreases in MED and pain. This low-burden online intervention could assist adults on LOT in reducing daily opioid use while self-managing pain symptom burdens.
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Psychedelic serotonergic agonists such as psilocybin have recently been shown to produce sustained benefit in refractory depression, end of life anxiety, and addiction when administered in hallucinogenic doses and coupled with psychotherapy. Although it has been suggested that similar high-dose protocols may help chronic pain conditions, there are few published clinical trials of psychedelics for pain. The use of these agents in subpsychedelic doses for chronic pain management has received even less attention. ⋯ Furthermore, the efficacy of pain relief and, in some cases, the duration of the effect were magnified when coupled with functional exercise. In addition, in 1 case, repeated dosing seemed to produce increased relief, suggesting a possible long-term plasticity-mediated effect. These commonalities highlight psilocybin's therapeutic potential in the treatment of chronic pain that warrants further investigation.
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Delphi study to explore a new diagnosis for "ineffective" long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain.
A challenge in clinical, research, and policy spheres is determining whether and how to apply the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 Opioid Use Disorder criteria to patients receiving long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for the management of chronic pain. This study explored perspectives on the merits of creating a new diagnostic entity to characterize the problems that arise for certain patients prescribed LTOT and develop consensus on its definition and diagnostic criteria. We conducted 3 rounds of online surveys and held one discussion-based workshop to explore a new diagnostic entity and generate consensus with subject matter experts (n = 51) in pain and opioid use disorder, including a wide range of professional disciplines. ⋯ A subgroup of expert panelists further refined the new diagnostic entity definition and criteria. Consensus on potential criteria for the new diagnostic entity was reached and further refined by a subgroup of experts. This Delphi study represents the opinions of a small group of subject matter experts; perspectives from other experts and additional stakeholder groups (including patients) are warranted.
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Painful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (PDPN) is one of the major complications of diabetes. Currently, centrally acting drugs and topical analgesics are used for treating PDPN. These drugs have adverse effects; some are ineffective, and treatment with opioids is associated with use dependence and addiction. ⋯ Application of RTX cream to the hind limbs suppresses thermal hyperalgesia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats and mini pigs without any adverse effects as compared with capsaicin at therapeutic doses, which induces intense pain during application. Resiniferatoxin cream also decreases the expression of TRPV1 in the peripheral nerve endings and suppresses TRPV1-mediated calcitonin gene-related peptide release in the skin samples of diabetic rats and mini pigs. Our preclinical data confirm that RTX topical formulation is an effective treatment option for PDPN.