Journal of pain and symptom management
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2003
Review Comparative StudyComparative efficacy and safety of long-acting oral opioids for chronic non-cancer pain: a systematic review.
Opioids have been endorsed as appropriate treatment for refractory chronic non-cancer pain when used according to published guidelines. They are widely used for this indication. However, there appear to be gaps in our understanding of the efficacy and safety of individual long-acting opioids compared to each other or as a class compared to short-acting opioids. ⋯ There was insufficient evidence to prove that different long-acting opioids are associated with different efficacy or safety profiles. There was also insufficient evidence to determine whether long-acting opioids as a class are more effective or safer than short-acting opioids. A subgroup of three studies on long-acting versus short-acting oxycodone was more homogeneous and provided fair evidence that these formulations are equally effective for pain control.
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J Pain Symptom Manage · Nov 2003
Review Comparative StudyComparative efficacy and safety of long-acting oral opioids for chronic non-cancer pain: a systematic review.
Opioids have been endorsed as appropriate treatment for refractory chronic non-cancer pain when used according to published guidelines. They are widely used for this indication. However, there appear to be gaps in our understanding of the efficacy and safety of individual long-acting opioids compared to each other or as a class compared to short-acting opioids. ⋯ There was insufficient evidence to prove that different long-acting opioids are associated with different efficacy or safety profiles. There was also insufficient evidence to determine whether long-acting opioids as a class are more effective or safer than short-acting opioids. A subgroup of three studies on long-acting versus short-acting oxycodone was more homogeneous and provided fair evidence that these formulations are equally effective for pain control.